Soros to help democrats
The Hill
September 22, 2005
Billionaire financier George Soros hosted a fundraiser for Senate Democrats
last week at his Manhattan home, making his first foray into politics after
spending $25 million of his money in an effort to defeat President Bush last
year.
Soros gathered about 60 of his friends and acquaintances in his Upper East
Side home Thursday to hear a presentation from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),
chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to a
knowledgeable source. The event raised an estimated $250,000 for Senate
Democratic candidates.
The hot topics of conversation among the assembled guests were the war in
Iraq and the Senate confirmation proceedings for Supreme Court nominee John
Roberts.
Until last week, Soros had kept his distance from Democratic fundraising
circles since Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) loss to Bush last November. And
Soros let it be known that he would not again donate to America Coming Together
(ACT), the 527 soft-money group that mobilized swing-state voters for
Democrats.
Already this election cycle, various liberal political groups have been
vying for access to Soros's deep pockets. But before the DSCC event,
Soros had not opened his wallet to any of them.
"He's looking at a lot of different proposals,' said
Michael Vachon, Soros's spokesman, who confirmed that the fundraiser took
place. He said Soros held a fundraiser for Senate Democrats in the 2004
election cycle as well.
But Soros has not held fundraisers this year for the Democratic National
Committee (DNC) or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and does not
have any immediate plans to do so, said officials with both committees. That
makes last week's event something of a coup for Schumer, who is known for
his aggressive fundraising tactics.
"Chuck Schumer probably kept calling him until he couldn't say
no,' a Democratic supporter said.
Under Schumer's leadership, the Senate Democratic fundraising
committee has outraised its Republican partner during the first six months of
this year, shocking many political observers.
The DSCC has kept a tight lid on Soros's participation in its effort
to amass a large campaign war chest and take back control of the Senate.
Schumer declined to discuss the fundraiser or even confirm that it took place,
saying that the DSCC has a policy of not discussing the committee's
fundraising practices. "We just don't,' Schumer said flatly
when asked about the policy.
So far this election cycle, that policy has helped Senate Democrats avoid
the controversy that Soros routinely attracts. But Republicans seized on the
Soros link when told he had held a fundraiser for the DSCC.
"I think it is shocking that Democrats would treat him as a mainstream
force of Democratic politics,' said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).
"He has an agenda that transcends American interests.'
Soros is known for making provocative statements and is often associated
with hot-button issues that most politicians would rather avoid, such as drug
decriminalization, assisted suicide and voting rights for felons. Soros, for
instance, has helped fund numerous initiatives that would soften criminal
penalties for drug use.
"I believe that a drug-free America is a utopian dream. Some form of
drug addiction or substance abuse is endemic in most societies,' Soros
wrote in a 1997 Washington Post op-ed. "Insisting on the total
eradication of drug use can only lead to failure and disappointment.'
As soon as Republican Party officials heard about the DSCC fundraiser, they
attempted to link Senate Democrats to Soros's controversial
positions.
"Mainstream Democrats would probably be disturbed to learn that their
party leaders are taking their cues from a man who wants to make heroin a
prescription drug,' said Tracy Schmitt, spokeswoman for the Republican
National Committee.
Republicans and conservatives have made greater efforts in recent months to
highlight ties between the Democratic Party and liberal interest groups. More
than 40 conservatives signed a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman
Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) yesterday asking that Specter order the release of
unpublished Democratic memos detailing contact between Judiciary Committee
Democrats and liberal groups. The memos are in the possession of Senate
Sergeant at Arms Bill Pickle, who confiscated them during the 108th Congress
while investigating the unauthorized publication of several sensitive
Democratic documents.
Earlier this year, Mark Stephens, the executive director of the National
Republican Senatorial Committee, attacked those links in a mass mailing to
Republican supporters.
"The George Soros/Howard Dean/Michael Moore/MoveOn.org element of the
Democratic Party has taken an increasingly prominent role in determining the
legislative strategy and political rhetoric of the Democrat leadership in the
U.S. Senate and House,' he wrote.
But despite the controversy, Soros remains an important player in
progressive circles by virtue of his vast fortune, estimated at nearly $7
billion.
Soros is also a member of the Democracy Alliance, a new partnership among
more than 80 wealthy liberals who have pledged to fund a network of progressive
think tanks and advocacy groups.
During the last election, Soros was one of the main funders of ACT, a group,
that along with its counterpart the Media Fund raised nearly $200 million
dollars. But ACT's efforts came up short, and the group has subsequently
become the target of Democratic criticism.
"ACT didn't focus on rural areas,' a Democratic operative
said. "It totally [messed] up by not speaking to the rural area of
Ohio.' Bush won the 2004 election by carrying Ohio by 2 percent of the
vote.
The liberal organizations that Soros and other wealthy members of the
Democracy Alliance decide to support no doubt will become the heavyweights of
Democratic national politics in 2006, 2008 and perhaps beyond.
The DNC may soon also benefit from Soros's fortune and connections. A
DNC official said that Howard Dean, the DNC chairman, has a good relationship
with Soros, dating from the 2004 campaign, and that Soros is supportive of DNC
goals.
|