Clinton fundraising leaves little for state parties

[LiberalArkie]

From the post at http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511880422

After POLITICO revealed that the victory fund was asking for couples to donate or raise a whopping $353,400 in order to sit at a table with Clinton, George Clooney and his wife, attorney Amal Clooney, at a fundraiser last month in San Francisco, Clooney admitted that was "an obscene amount of money." But he justified it by saying "the overwhelming amount of the money that we're raising, is not going to Hillary to run for president, it's going to the down-ticket."

According to the agreements signed by the participating committees, which were obtained by POLITICO, the money is required to be distributed, at least initially, based on a formula set forth in joint fundraising agreements signed by the participants. The first $2,700 goes to Clinton campaign, the next $33,400 goes to the DNC, and any remaining funds are to be distributed among the state parties.

But what happens to the cash after that initial distribution is left almost entirely to the discretion of the Clinton campaign. Its chief operating officer Beth Jones is the treasurer of the victory fund. And FEC filings show that within a day of most transfers from the victory fund to the state parties, identical sums were transferred from the state party accounts to the DNC, which Sanders’ supporters have accused of functioning as an adjunct of the Clinton campaign.

For example, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party received $43,500 from the victory fund on Nov. 2, only to transfer the same amount to the DNC that same day. The pattern repeated itself after the Minnesota party received transfers from the victory fund of $20,600 on Dec. 1 (the party sent the same amount to the DNC the next day) and $150,000 on Jan. 4 (it transferred the same amount to the DNC that day).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511880422

[Human101948]

1. So, this story is factual, not what Hillaryites claimed when they smeared Margot Kidder...

so much for all that down ticket money that Hillary was raising. Just another example of how mired her campaign is in the Citizens nited swamp.

[LiberalArkie]

4. It seems to be a pure case of money laundering. The actual definition of it.

I wonder how the wealthy elites feel now since even Clooney was hosting because it would help local candidates?

[merrily]

2. Shocked

And George Clooney helped her push this story.

Amazing how many people have been willing to blow their own credibility.

[djean111]

3. And Bernie fundraises for Democrats and enables us to donate directly to them,

not to Hillary's pockets.

Another case of "accuse your opponent of what you are doing" - Hillary is getting the money, and, under Debbie, Democrats have lost 900+ state legislature seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats, and 13 Senate seats. Um, no, that is not Bernie's fault, nor is it Bernie's job to fix. Debbie did it, Debbie can fix it. Although I think it is a deliberate looting and purge of the DNC.

[EdwardBernays]

5. Look here

[thereismore]

6. That's all her personal money. On paper, she worked for it, but we know what these are: bribes. nt

[SoapBox]

7. Rotten, rotten, rotten...

The Elites, to their very cores.

[eridani]

8. State Party Officials Reportedly Displeased with Clinton-DNC 'Laundering' Scheme

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/02/state-party-officials-reportedly-displeased-clinton-dnc-laundering-scheme

Hillary Clinton's use of a so-called joint fundraising committee, through which her presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and 32 state party committees can solicit big-money donors, is under fire not just from rival Bernie Sanders, but also from state party officials and their allies, according to reporting by Politico.

Politico's deep dive into the latest Federal Election Commission filings, published Monday, shows that the Hillary Victory Fund "has transferred $3.8 million to the state parties, but almost all of that cash ($3.3 million, or 88 percent) was quickly transferred to the DNC, usually within a day or two, by the Clinton staffer who controls the committee."

The analysis continues:

By contrast, the victory fund has transferred $15.4 million to Clinton’s campaign and $5.7 million to the DNC, which will work closely with Clinton’s campaign if and when she becomes the party’s nominee. And most of the $23.3 million spent directly by the victory fund has gone towards expenses that appear to have directly benefited Clinton’s campaign, including $2.8 million for “salary and overhead” and $8.6 million for web advertising that mostly looks indistinguishable from Clinton campaign ads and that has helped Clinton build a network of small donors who will be critical in a general election expected to cost each side well in excess of $1 billion.

Unsurprisingly the arrangement is ruffling more than a few feathers, notably "among some participating state party officials and their allies," according to Politico reporters Kenneth P. Vogel and Isaac Arnsdorf. "They grumble privately that Clinton is merely using them to subsidize her own operation, while her allies overstate her support for their parties and knock Sanders for not doing enough to help the party."