Salesforce.com’s CEO and president, Marc Beinoff, is well on his way to meeting the $700,000 minimum per fundraiser for President Obama’s 2012 campaign. Beinoff will host a $38,800 per plate dinner on April 20 in a 60-seat venue. Half of the proceeds raised will go to the Democratic National Committee, with the other half going to the Obama re-election campaign. It is fully expected that 400 campaigners will vie to sign on, ultimately generating $300 million.
The campaign goal is to raise $1 billion. While President Obama may lose some independents, he will definitely swim in new pools of money. The big donors who thought him a jokester in 2008 now want in, and they want access.
Any doubts about Obama needing that much cash to win next year will be dispelled when the recent anti-union cable television buy rears its head. Crossroads GPS, under the direction of GOP strategist Karl Rove, spent $750,000 in one week slamming Obama. The opposing negative spots are showing up much earlier than in the past, but still disguised as pigs in dresses. They are distractions, nothing more than the GOP’s meat tenderizer for Obama. Stay this course long enough, and few will remember all of the in-fighting that surrounded the GOP presidential hopefuls — but all will remember the first black man to spend $1 billion dollars for the public interest: President Barack Obama. –a. robinson
