Bundlers help rake in big bucks for Obama
They're affectionately known as "bundlers." Very affectionately.
They reach out to friends, relatives and associates to help raise money for political candidates. In some cases, they bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions.
President Obama's re-election campaign today posted the names of 269 bundlers, each of whom helped raise at least $50,000. Some raised five and ten times that amount.
At the top tier are 31 supreme bundlers whose fund-raising efforts for the Obama Campaign have each generated over $500,000 so far this year.
There are a few familiar names among the Obama campaign's big moneymakers:
Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. President Obama made fund-raising appearances for his re-election campaign in 2009, but Corzine lost.
Movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg. Chief Executive Officer of Dreamworks. He was invited guest at first State Dinner hosted by President Obama in 2009.
- Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue. Last year she hosted a Democratic National Committee fundraising event at her Manhattan home. It was attended by President Obama and raised over $1.5 million.
The Obama campaign is needling the field Republican presidential candidates to be as forthcoming about identifying its top fundraisers.
"President Bush disclosed his bundlers," said campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt in a message on Twitter. "Will the current GOP field follow suit? What do they have to hide?" asked LaBolt.
FEC rules only require disclosure of lobbyists who engage in bundling for a campaign.
The Obama campaign this week announced that in its first 3 months of operation, coinciding with the 2nd quarter of the year, the Obama Victory Fund took in $86.7 million.
That amount is over 4½ times the $18.25 million taken in by Mitt Romney's presidential campaign during the same period and 20 times the contributions received by most of the other Republicans hoping to oust President Obama from his job.
