Obama and D.N.C. Set Up Fund-Raising Committee - The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship

[jefferson_dem]

April 25, 2008, 1:34 pm
Obama and D.N.C. Set Up Fund-Raising Committee
By Michael Luo

Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee are establishing a joint fund-raising committee, a step that is usually only undertaken by a party’s presumptive nominee but in this case is being driven by how long it has taken the Democrats to settle their nomination fight.

The joint fund-raising agreement, which allows donors to write a single large check which is then divvied up between the candidate’s campaign and the party, was first reported by Time magazine’s The Page and confirmed by the Obama campaign.

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has already created a similar set-up with the Republican National Committee. Because the party can undertake activities on the candidate’s behalf within certain restrictions, the joint committees are usually created after it is clear who the nominee is and then used as a vehicle to raise more money because they take advantage of the much greater contribution limits for the national parties, $28,500, compared to just $2,300 for the primary and $2,300 for the general election for a candidate’s campaign.

But with the Democratic nomination dragging on, many within the party were becoming increasingly alarmed at the growing disparity in resources between the D.N.C., which had just $5 million in cash on hand at the end of March, compared to $31 million for the R.N.C.

“This is an effort to be a team player and make sure we have the resources we need,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign.

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http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/obama-and-dnc-set-up-fund-raising-committee/

[fed_up_mother]

1. haha Sounds good to me!

[tokenlib]

2. Well, they both believe in a 50-state effort...

It's good they're getting organized.

[thoughtcrime1984]

3. Nice! There is no doubt who the nom will be. NONE. nt

[madfloridian]

4. Considering Hillary's big donors have been threatening Dean...

about FL and MI...I doubt they will go along.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1970

[XemaSab]

5. The beginning?

I thought they'd been seeing each other secretly for years. :hide:

[madfloridian]

6. I found a good post about it at TPM

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/obama_campaign_confirms_joint.php

"Obama spokesperson Bill Burton just confirmed to me that the campaign has set up a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, a development that was first reported today by Mark Halperin.

The move is unusual in the sense that it's typically the sort of thing that's done once there is a nominee.

That the DNC has done this with Obama before the contest is settled reflects two realities: First, that Obama is the likely the nominee; and second, that McCain is forging ahead with the building of a campaign apparatus while the two Dems continue to pour resources into an intra-Dem contest with no immediate end in sight.

"This is an effort to be a team player and make sure we have the resources we need," Burton says.

The joint committee can raise cash in far larger chunks than candidates -- they can take in $28,500 from individuals, more than 10 times the $2,300 contribution limit for candidates.

Similar discussions are ongoing between Hillary and the DNC, but no deal has been struck yet, Halperin reports."