Subject: We will not play by two sets of rules
From: "Jim Messina, BarackObama.com" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 23:08:57 -0500

Hunter --

I wrote something for our blog about our decision to support Priorities USA, 
the Super PAC that can help neutralize the avalanche of special-interest 
spending to defeat President Obama. Every supporter should read it; it's 
pasted below.

I just want to add something for you specifically about your role in all of this.

We decided to do this because we can't afford for the work you're doing 
in your communities, and the grassroots donations you give to support it, 
to be destroyed by hundreds of millions of dollars in negative ads.

It's a real risk.

In 2011, the Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney raised $30 million from 
fewer than 200 contributors. Ninety-six percent of what they've spent 
so far, more than $18 million, has been on attack ads. The main engine 
of Romney's campaign has an average contribution of roughly $150,000.

That's why it's up to us -- the grassroots organization -- to win this election 
where we have the real advantage, and that's on the ground. More than 
1.3 million Americans have already donated. Our average donation is $55, 
and 98 percent are $250 or less.

The stakes are too important to play by two different sets of rules. If we 
fail to act, we concede this election to a small group of powerful people 
intent on removing the President at any cost.

If you can volunteer, please sign up now:

http://my.barackobama.com/Volunteer-for-2012a

If you can give, please give now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Donate-for-2012a

Thank you,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

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We will not play by two sets of rules
By Jim Messina

In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the 
door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs -- non-candidate political committees 
that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests. For the first 
time, these committees could accept money from corporations, not just wealthy 
individuals.

The decision has accelerated a dangerous trend toward a political system 
increasingly dominated by big-money interests with disproportionate power 
to spend freely to influence our elections and our government.

It's a trend the President has fought against, coming into office with a mission 
to limit special-interest influence in Washington. He put in place the most sweeping 
ethics reforms in history to close the revolving door between government and 
lobbyists. And he's overseen the most open administration ever -- reversing 
Bush-era policies designed to limit Freedom of Information Act requests and 
disclosing White House visitor records so that Americans can see how their 
government works.

The President opposed the Citizens United decision. He understood that with 
the dramatic growth in opportunities to raise and spend unlimited special-interest 
money, we would see new strategies to hide it from public view. He continues to 
support a law to force full disclosure of all funding intended to influence our 
elections, a reform that was blocked in 2010 by a unanimous Republican filibuster 
in the U.S. Senate. And the President favors action -- by constitutional amendment, 
if necessary -- to place reasonable limits on all such spending.

But this cycle, our campaign has to face the reality of the law as it currently stands.

Over the last few months, Super PACs affiliated with Republican presidential candidates 
have spent more than $40 million on television and radio, almost all of it for negative ads.

Last week, filings showed that the Super PAC affiliated with Mitt Romney's campaign 
raised $30 million in 2011 from fewer than 200 contributors, most of them from the 
financial sector. Governor Romney personally helped raise money for this group, 
which is run by some of his closest allies.

Meanwhile, other Super PACs established for the sole purpose of defeating the 
President -- along with "nonprofits" that also aren't required to disclose the sources 
of their funding -- have raised more than $50 million. In the aggregate, these groups 
are expected to spend half a billion dollars, above and beyond what the Republican 
nominee and party are expected to commit to try to defeat the President.

With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby 
the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm.

Therefore, the campaign has decided to do what we can, consistent with the law, 
to support Priorities USA in its effort to counter the weight of the GOP Super PACs. 
We will do so only in the knowledge and with the expectation that all of its donations 
will be fully disclosed as required by law to the Federal Election Commission.

What this change means practically: Senior campaign officials as well as some White 
House and Cabinet officials will attend and speak at Priorities USA fundraising events. 
While campaign officials may be appearing at events to amplify our message, these 
folks won't be soliciting contributions for Priorities USA. I should also note that the 
President, Vice President, and First Lady will not be a part of this effort; their political 
activity will remain focused on the President's campaign.

But here's what this doesn't change: the fact that ordinary people stepping up to take 
control of the political process is essential to our strategy.

This decision will help fill a hole on our side. But it's only one part of the overall effort.

Supporting Priorities USA means that our side will not concede the battles on the air in 
the months to come, but we continue to believe that this election will be won on the 
ground. Super PACs haven't opened offices. They haven't hired organizers. They 
haven't registered voters. They haven't knocked on doors or made the kind of personal 
contact with voters that we know is the single most effective way to persuade people 
and turn them out on Election Day.

And this is where we have the advantage. It will be up to us -- the grassroots organization, 
funded by an average donation of $55 -- to win this election.

It's a point of pride that 98 percent of all our donations are $250 or less. Mitt Romney won't 
reveal that number about his own campaign, but filings show that just 9 percent of the 
Romney campaign's money in the fourth quarter of last year came from people giving 
less than $200.

Americans across the country are supporting the most extensive neighbor-to-neighbor, 
grassroots organization in history.

It's my hope that by making this decision and doing what we can to neutralize the onslaught 
of special-interest money, we can ensure that the decisive factor in this election won't be 
an unprecedented flood of special-interest spending, and the outcome will be back in the 
hands of ordinary Americans.

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