The Washington Post Morning Fix: The Obama money machine

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The Obama money machine


President Obama continues to say little about his re-election plans publicly, but behind-the-scenes his senior aides are plotting a vast fundraising network designed to build on the $750 million he collected during the 2008 campaign.


On Wednesday night, Obama spoke at a reception for major donors, telling them that “when you look back at the track record of work that we’ve done over the last two years, I think that it’s fair to say the promise that we made to the American people has been kept.”


Then on Thursday, Jim Messina, who is expected to serve as campaign manager for Obama’s re-election bid, met with 450 major donors and issued a directive for each person to collect $350,000 by the end of 2011. (The news of the meeting was first reported by the New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny.)


The twin events come hard on the heels of a series of visits by Messina with major donors scattered all over the country and, when taken together, suggest that the Obama money machine is quickly ramping up — 19 months before the November 2012 election.


Obama insiders have downplayed the possibility that the president will crest the $1 billion mark in fundraising for the 2012 race, but the early start coupled with the ambitious goals outlined by Messina seems to run counter to those denials.


The focus of the Obama operation in the early going appears to be primarily on large-dollar donors, utilizing the bundling system — where a wealthy individual not only donate but also encourages friends (and friends of friends) to give — put in place so successfully by George W. Bush’s campaigns in 2000 and 2004.


But, the fundraising goals outlined by Messina on Thursday are well in excess of those that the Bush campaign established. (To become a Bush “Pioneer” an individual had to raise $100,000; a Bush “Ranger” brought in $200,000.)


If the Obama large-dollar donors are able to meet the goals put forward by Messina, the campaign would wrack up at least $157 million this year alone. To put that in perspective, Obama collected $250 million in offline contributions in 2008 with many, though far from all, coming from major donors and bundlers. (The remaining $500 million was raised online.)


Money alone won’t win Obama a second term. But, as Republicans continue to mull whether to run for president in 2012, the president is putting in place a cash-collection operation that will almost certainly bring in the most money in the history of presidential campaigns.






Waiting for Martin, and Shelly and Tim: The coming weeks are going to be big for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.


Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine is expected to jump into the open seat race in Virginia, giving the party what would be it’s first real high-profile recruit in a top race.


But perhaps more important for Democrats will be the recruits they land in Nevada and New Mexico. In the former, Rep. Shelley Berkley apparently has the right of first refusal, and in the latter, Rep. Martin Heinrich seems to be the man for the job (a poll released Thursday showed him leading a hypothetical field that included former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan and state Auditor Hector Balderas).


Democrats think they would be good with either Berkley, Secretary of State Ross Miller or Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada and either Heinrich or Balderas in New Mexico. They hope to avoid primaries in both states, and if they do, they could be favored in New Mexico and have a decent shot at stealing a seat in Nevada.


After that, the next big recruiting challenges will be the open seats in Arizona and North Dakota — both tough races without a deep bench of recruits.


Make no misake; it’s getting to crunch time with these open seats. Republicans have had little trouble recruiting so far, and Democrats will have something to prove soon enough.






Gay marriage cracks 50 percent: For the the first time ever, more than half of Americans say they support gay marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.


Support for gay marriage has trended steadily upward in recent years. While just 32 percent of Americans favored gay marriage in 2004, 53 percent are now in favor.


The size of that shift over just seven years is remarkable. Americans’ views on major social issues generally don’t change so quickly. As we’ve discussed before, a decreated emphasis on social issues in the political arena has masked a significant shift in the American social fabric.


The shift also presents evidence that the Obama White House is making the right calls when it comes to gay rights — including its moves to allow gays to serve openly in the military and to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.






Fixbits:

• Haley Barbour’s son, Sterling, says he doesn’t want his father to run for president in 2012.

• Businessman Keith Fimian (R) will challenge Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) for a third-straight time, provided redistricting doesn’t make Connolly’s district unwinnable.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has released his budget proposal, which includes big cuts and would lead to a $19 billion surplus by Fiscal Year 2016, according to his office.

• Two former Democratic Party officials in Michigan are facing felony charges for conspiring to put fake tea party candidates in the ballot.

• The House voted Thursday to defund National Public Radio.

• Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Mitt Romney has some explaining to do when it comes to his health care bill.

• The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $4.9 million in February, has $4.3 million cash on hand and $9.5 million in debt.

Must-reads:

• “Signs mounts that Huckabee won’t enter presidential race” — Brian Montopoli and Robert Hendin, CBS News

• “Senate approves short-term spending cuts” — David Fahrenthold and Felicia Sonmez, Washington Post

• “Direct message to politician: think before you click ‘tweet’” — Jackie Kucinich, USA Today

By Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake