Dem big donors steering clear of 527 groups
Even George Soros is looking beyond the mid terms and giving his money to policy rather than political groups.
New York Times:
Democratic donors like George Soros, the bête noire of the right, and his fellow billionaire Peter B. Lewis, who each gave more than $20 million to Democratic-oriented groups in the 2004 election, appear to be holding back so far."Mr. Soros believes that he can be most effective by funding groups that promote progressive policy outcomes in areas such as health care, the environment and foreign policy," said an adviser, Michael Vachon. "So he has opted to fund those activities."
The absence of these Democratic megadonors is contributing to a huge disparity in spending between pro-Republican and pro-Democratic groups. The groups wield huge influence in many House and Senate races because they can take in contributions of unlimited size.
In the last week, Republican-leaning groups outspent their Democratic counterparts on television by more than seven to one on Senate races and nearly four to one on House races across the country, according to data from the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising. The gap shows few signs of abating, even with the midterm election season in full swing.
There's a reason these guys got rich in the first place; they stayed away from making bad bets with their money. Soros et al see the battle ahead clearly; hanging on to what they've accomplished so far by trying to blunt efforts by the incoming GOP congress to repeal the Obama agenda, while preparing the battlefield for 2012.