True. I don't want to contribute another $50 to the Obama campaign knowing that at least part of it will go to pay off Hillary's debts. Sorry. Bipartisanship goes out the window when an opponent like Hillary is in debt thanks to bad management.
After a huge burst of support in February, Obama's online fundraising has gone from $51 million to $41 in March, then to $31 and $22 million. No sign of the June totals yet, but as on-line donors zip up their pockets in response to Obama's FISA vote (just one of a series of annoyances for the doctrinaire), the totals from small donors may diminish.
Now Obama's going after the big guys. And they're complaining, too, about giving money to retire Clinton's campaign debt, too. According to the Washington Post:
This latest fundraising push is, in part, a race against the clock as the summer wears on and wealthy donors leave town for vacations. And the demands on members of Obama's National Finance Committee have never been greater.
Each of the hundreds of members of the senator's main fundraising team has been asked to raise at least $100,000 for the Victory Fund, which spreads money among Obama's general-election account, state party accounts and the DNC. Those joining the committee from the Clinton camp have been asked to raise another $250,000 in money Obama can continue to spend before the party's late-August nominating convention. And each finance committee member has been asked to collect checks from at least five donors to help Clinton retire more than $10 million of her campaign debt.
That task, in particular, has created heartache among longtime Obama supporters who believe any effort to retire Clinton's debt should take a back seat to gathering money for Obama's fall campaign.
"It's a challenge," said James Hudson, a Washington lawyer and Obama fundraiser who said he's already asking his friends and colleagues to write checks to Obama's Victory Fund. "Now you have to make two asks instead of one. In my mind, the primary goal here should be to raise money for Barack's campaign."
