The 'flood gates' were already wide open. Soros admits he spent $26.5 million to defeat George Bush in the 2004 election but he wasn't forced to admit that. His donations didn't have to be revealed by soft money groups to which he donated.
"They were ready to kiss me, Soros quipped," of democrats standing on the deck of Soros' Southampton home in 2002 after he pledged another $10 million. ""Like a lot of elite groups, we fly beneath the radar," said a Democracy Alliance donor (2006).
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Citation:
Soros contributed $26.5 million to a failed effort to defeat President George Bush in last year's (2004) U.S. presidential elections."...
from:
3/24/2005, "Soros French Insider Trading Conviction Upheld (Update3)," Bloomberg,
(Soros is a convicted felon).
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Obama lies about secret funding. Democracy Alliance donates only if secrecy is guaranteed, 2006 article:
7/16/06, Washington Post: "A New Alliance of Democrats Spreads Funding," by Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza
"An alliance of nearly a hundred of the nation's wealthiest donors is roiling Democratic political circles, directing
- more than $50 million in the past nine months to liberal think tanks and advocacy groups in what organizers say is the first installment of a long-term campaign
- to compete more aggressively against conservatives.
- to submit to its extensive screening process and its
- demands for secrecy.
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Below, Soros on his way to spending $26.5 million to defeat Bush, from Nov. 2003, Wash. Post. Article notes he can donate unlimited amounts through various unregulated groups that sprang up after a 2002 law:
NEW YORK -- "George Soros, one of the world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project:
"It is the central focus of my life," Soros said, his blue eyes settled on an unseen target. The 2004 presidential race, he said in an interview,
- is "a matter of life and death."...
On Monday, he and a partner committed up to $5 million to MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group,
bringing to $15.5 million the total of his personal contributions
to oust Bush.
Overnight, Soros, 74, has become the major financial player of the left. He has elicited cries of foul play from the right.
And with a tight nod, he pledged: "If necessary, I would give more money."...
Soros's contributions are filling a gap in Democratic Party finances that opened after the restrictions in the 2002 McCain-Feingold law took effect. In the past, political parties paid a large share of television and get-out-the-vote costs with unregulated "soft money" contributions from corporations, unions and rich individuals. The parties are now barred from accepting such money. But non-party groups in both camps are stepping in, accepting soft money and taking over voter mobilization.
"It's incredibly ironic that George Soros is trying to create a more open society by using an unregulated, under-the-radar-screen, shadowy, soft-money group to do it," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson said. "
"It would be too immodest for a private person to set himself up against the president," he said. "But it is, in fact" -- he chuckled -- "the Soros Doctorine."
His campaign began last summer with the help of Morton H. Halperin, a liberal think tank veteran. Soros invited Democratic strategists to his house in Southampton, Long Island, including Clinton chief of staff John D. Podesta, Jeremy Rosner, Robert Boorstin and Carl Pope.
They discussed the coming election. Standing on the back deck, the evening sun angling into their eyes, Soros took aside Steve Rosenthal, CEO of the liberal activist group America Coming Together (ACT), and Ellen Malcolm, its president. They were proposing to mobilize voters in 17 battleground states.
Soros told them he would give ACT $10 million.
Asked about his moment in the sun, Rosenthal deadpanned: "We were disappointed. We thought a guy like George Soros could do more." Then he laughed. "No, kidding! It was thrilling."
Malcolm: "It was like getting his Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."
"They were ready to kiss me," Soros quipped.
Before coffee the next morning, his friend Peter Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corp., had pledged $10 million to ACT. Rob Glaser, founder and CEO of RealNetworks, promised $2 million. Rob McKay, president of the McKay Family Foundation, gave $1 million and benefactors Lewis and Dorothy Cullman committed $500,000.
Soros also promised up to $3 million to Podesta's new think tank, the Center for American Progress....
Soros will continue to recruit wealthy donors for his campaign. Having put a lot of money into the war of ideas around the world, he has learned that "money buys talent; you can advocate more effectively."
At his home in Westchester, N.Y., he raised $115,000 for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. He also supports Democratic presidential contenders Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.)....
Soros has backed altering campaign finance, an aide said, donating close to
$18 million over the past seven years.
"There's some irony, given the supporting role he played in helping to end the soft money system," Wertheimer said. "I'm sorry that Mr. Soros has decided to put so much money into a political effort to defeat a candidate."...
An aide said Soros welcomes the scrutiny. Soros has become as rich as he has, the aide said, because he has a preternatural instinct for a good deal.
Asked whether he would trade his $7 billion fortune to unseat Bush, Soros opened his mouth. Then he closed it. The proposal hung in the air:
Would he become poor to beat Bush?
He said, "If someone guaranteed it.""
by Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post staff writer, 11/11/03, via AlJazeera.com, "Soros deep pockets vs Bush financier contributes $5 million more in effort to oust president"
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2006, Democracy Alliance donor: ""Like a lot of elite groups, we fly beneath the radar," said Guy Saperstein, an Oakland lawyer and alliance donor. But "we are not so stupid though," he said, to think "we can deny our existence."..."It is not possible in the 21st century to promote a coherent belief system and maintain political influence without a robust, enduring local, state and national institutional infrastructure," (Democracy Alliance co-founder Rob) Stein said."
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3/13/10, "President Obama criticizes United States Supreme Court prompting response from Chief Justice," massachusettscriminaldefenselawyer.com
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"J Street does not reveal the names of donors to its 501(c)(4) corporation or the amounts of their contributions. Neither do nearly all such entities in the United States. The law guarantees donors their privacy and confidentiality. Nevertheless, my answers regarding Mr. Soros were misleading. I deeply and genuinely apologize for that and for any distraction from J Street’s important work created by my actions and decisions."
9/26/10, "Explanation of George Soros & J Street Funding," J Street blog, Jeremy Ben-Ami
"Within the past 48 hours, you may have heard that the Washington Times published a confidential J Street tax return, containing private information about some of our donors.
I write to provide an explanation, to assume responsibility, and to put the whole matter in perspective in light of critically important events taking place this week on the world stage related to Israel and the Middle East.
You and I have built something spectacular in J Street. Our success has been phenomenal. In just two and a half years, our three legally independent entities (J Street, J Street Education Fund and JStreetPAC) have raised more than $11 million from over 10,000 donors.As with so many non-profits, our work depends in part on the generosity and support of our largest donors. Among them are individuals who have provided six-figure financial support and foundations providing major grants to support the work of our Education Fund.
George Soros and his family decided to donate to J Street in the fall of 2008, well after our launch and two years after he publicly stated that it would not be helpful for him to assist in getting the effort off the ground. The family contributed an average of $250,000 per year over the last three years (2008-2010) and their support amounts to just over 7 percent of the total funds raised by the J Street family of organizations.
I accept responsibility personally for being less than clear about Mr. Soros’ support once he did become a donor. I said Mr. Soros did not help launch J Street or provide its initial funding, and that is true. I also said we would be happy to take his support. But I did not go the extra step to add that he did in fact start providing support in the fall of 2008, six months after our launch.
J Street does not reveal the names of donors to its 501(c)(4) corporation or the amounts of their contributions. Neither do nearly all such entities in the United States. The law guarantees donors their privacy and confidentiality. Nevertheless, my answers regarding Mr. Soros were misleading. I deeply and genuinely apologize for that and for any distraction from J Street’s important work created by my actions and decisions."(Ed. note: Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's president authored the above about Soros' contributions. I couldn't find this stated on the web page though it may be there and I missed it.)
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9/29/10, Washington Times: "Israel lobby (J Street) aided hill visits for UN report author," by Birnbaum and Lake
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A legal loophole allowed Soros and his entire family to give extra money to Obama's 2004 Senate campaign:
4/30/2007, "Soros, Obama, and the Millionaires Exception," American Thinker, Ed Lasky
Since Obama was running for Senate in Illinois against 2 people who millionaires, "Obama could, and did, receive especially large donations from individuals, to so-called "millionaires exception." Normally individuals are limited to giving $2300 to candidates in federal elections, but when candidates are running against millionaires, these limits are lifted and candidates are allowed to receive up to $12,000 from a single individual. Soros and his family gave Barack Obama $60,000. This does not include money that Soros was able to funnel to so-called 527 groups (Moveon.org, for example) that have also been politically active; nor does it include money that Soros was able to raise from tapping a network of friends, business associates, and employees."...
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