http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-fundraising-drive-ta-by-Patrick-Martin-111001-203.htmlPresident Obama's week-long fundraising swing through the western United States, with stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver, showed his ability to combine demagogy about raising taxes on the wealthy with direct appeals to the super-rich to finance his reelection campaign. At least $5 million was raised in the California stops alone, according to press reports.
The outpouring of support from the well-heeled, including Hollywood figures and Silicon Valley CEOs, shows that the ruling class understands very well that Obama's calls for the rich to pay their "fair share" of deficit reduction are no threat to their own property and wealth. On the contrary, a sizable section of the financial elite understands that it needs the fig leaf supplied by Obama to stave off the real danger of a movement from below.
The campaign tour began with Obama for America COO Ann Marie Habershaw alerting campaign teams that fundraising figures for the third quarter, which must be reported to the Federal Election Commission by October 15, would be critical. "What we do before midnight on September 30th determines our budget until the end of this year," she wrote in an e-mail published by the Washington congressional daily The Hill.
After raising a record $86 million in the April-June quarter, divided between his reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee, Obama was compelled to cancel most fundraising events in July because of the protracted wrangling with congressional Republicans over the federal budget deficit. August, which is a month-long vacation for many of the super-rich, is traditionally the slowest month for campaign fundraising.
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