Subject: Re: Million-dollar donors lift Jeb Bush's presidential ambitions - Yahoo News
From: "Alexander S. Mackler" <[email-masked]>
To: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2015 22:09:45 -0400

By the way, I left one part out of my totally crazy,
go-for-broke-and-tell-it-like-it-is campaign message (below):

"Look, I'm doing this my way (cough, the *right* way). I'm not starting a
SuperPAC and going to beg at the feet of a handful of billionaires because
that makes a mockery of the very word 'democracy.' One of my earliest acts
as a senator was a constitutional amendment on campaign finance. And I'm
not going to go to Iowa and NH, two great states who are entirely
unrepresentative of our nation and, particularly, my party. (softer: it's
too late for me to organize there, so I'm passing). I'm starting in South
Carolina, a state that more broadly reflects our country. *And by the way,
the most important decision a presidential candidate makes is choosing a
VP; it's ridiculous that that decision is held until after we select a
nominee. So I'm going to tell you now who mine will be...*
I won't be bankrolled by a handful of billionaires; I won't speak down to
the American people or appeal to the lowest common denominator. I'm gonna
do this like you and I know it should be done: honest, straightforward, and
clear. In short, I'm gonna be Joe Biden."

But who is it? No great choices. Almost has to be a woman. Maggie Hassan?
Young, popular, female governor. But from the northeast and maybe not ready
for the bright lights. The one no one wants -- Warren -- is older, from the
northeast, but is also sharp as hell and would drive both HRC and the right
crazy (and win arguments). Patty Murray? Klobuchar? Can't be Kamala (she
has a campaign and she's doesn't pass the "ready" test). The gov men are
all imperfect (Hickenlooper, Deval Patrick). Might have to choose a DC-er,
which isn't ideal. One of the Castro brothers? Booker?
No great choices.

On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 9:20 PM, Alexander S. Mackler <[email-masked]>
wrote:

> Hunter, if you really want to know what I think? Going off of nothing but
> my own reflections/ravings and conversations with the voices in my head:
>
> We're not raising enough money even with a SuperPAC, whatever the $$
> amount is that's needed. And if the broader message of the campaign is--
> "Look, I'm doing this my way (cough, the *right* way). I'm not starting a
> SuperPAC and going to beg at the feet of a handful of billionaires because
> that makes a mockery of the very word 'democracy.' One of my earliest acts
> as a senator was a constitutional amendment on campaign finance. And I'm
> not going to go to Iowa and NH, two great states who are entirely
> unrepresentative of our nation and, particularly, my party. (softer: it's
> too late for me to organize there, so I'm passing). I'm starting in South
> Carolina, a state that more broadly reflects our country. I won't be
> bankrolled by a handful of billionaires; I won't speak down to the American
> people or appeal to the lowest common denominator. I'm gonna do this like
> you and I know it should be done: honest, straightforward, and clear. In
> short, I'm gonna be Joe Biden."
>
> Maybe that's not the message, but it's the one I like the most and is,
> selfishly, the most fun and refreshing. But if that is the message, and
> even with a SuperPAC we can't close the gap, then let's do it the right way
> and go for glory.  If Bernie can raise $15m on $2,700 and small-dollar, we
> can't raise enough to get from October to SC?
>
> The downsides are obvious: what good is the moral high ground if you can't
> raise the money to reach the starting line, let alone last? And the fact
> that you could get ignored in the weeks leading up to Iowa/NH, like
> Guiliani did. (That's buffered a bit by the bully pulpit that comes with
> being VP.)
>
> But the upside, to me at least, outweighs it: first of all, I don't think
> even playing by the new sleazy rules can we raise near as much as her or
> Jeb. What happens if we do a SuperPAC and raise something paltry, like
> Rand? There is a virtue to lowering fundraising expectations--and if it
> happens to jibe with our "honest" message, then, well, conscience and
> convenience.
> And if we can't get it done, then in the end he did it his way, stays
> consistent with his 40+ year history, and instead of being a 3-time loser
> he's the guy who finished his public career on a high: telling folks how it
> really is, playing it straight, and being the leader everyone can be proud
> of. If we lose, the amount of time spent campaigning is relatively brief
> and he still gets back to the WH with enough time to complete his run as
> the most successful VP in modern history. And most importantly, he did it
> his way.
>
> But what the hell do I know, I'm not the one who has to raise the money.
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 8:26 PM, Eric Schwerin <
> [email-masked]> wrote:
>
>> Has anyone figured out the number needed for 10/1-South Carolina?  What's
>> the budget?
>>
>> Eric D. Schwerin
>> [email-masked]
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jul 29, 2015, at 8:16 PM, Hunter Biden <[email-masked]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> So what do we do? If we compress our time frame from 10/1 through SC how
>> do we get from here to there? Not through "online" contributions or $2,400
>>  checks. It is disgusting but what's our play?
>>
>> RHB
>> 202.333.1880
>>
>> On Jul 29, 2015, at 8:11 PM, Alexander S. Mackler <[email-masked]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> No bullshit, this disgusts me.
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Jul 29, 2015, at 2:20 PM, Eric Schwerin <[email-masked]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> http://news.yahoo.com/million-dollar-donors-lift-jeb-bushs-presidential-ambitions-180425534--election.html
>>
>> Million-dollar donors lift Jeb Bush's presidential ambitions
>>
>> WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen million-dollar contributors account for at
>> least 10 percent of Jeb Bush's record-setting presidential fundraising haul.
>>
>> The big-money boosters propelled Right to Rise, a super PAC dedicated to
>> helping Bush win the Republican nomination, to its $103 million total in
>> the first six month of the year. Separately, Bush's official campaign,
>> limited to contributions of $2,700 or less per donor, raised $11.4 million.
>> The super PAC faces no fundraising restrictions but cannot directly
>> coordinate with Bush even as it spends money on his behalf.
>>
>> The leading Bush donor, who gave $3 million, is Miguel "Mike" Fernandez,
>> a billionaire health care investor in Miami. He's one of about 12 people
>> who gave $1 million or more each to the super PAC.
>>
>> Fernandez and other donor identities were confirmed with a source
>> familiar with Right to Rise's fundraising efforts; the person asked for
>> anonymity because the donor names won't be disclosed until reports are
>> filed Friday with federal regulators.
>>
>> Until Bush declared his candidacy on June 15, he traveled the country
>> meeting with Right to Rise donors and speaking at its fundraising events.
>> As an official candidate, he's now focused on raising money that his
>> campaign will directly control. He left the super PAC in the hands of Mike
>> Murphy, one of his most trusted advisers, who is based in Los Angeles.
>>
>> Super PAC officials have said 9,400 of their roughly 9,900 donors gave
>> $25,000 or less. Throughout much of the year, Right to Rise limited donors
>> to gifts of $1 million so that the super PAC wouldn't be overwhelmed by one
>> huge donor; that self-imposed cap lifted the day Bush entered the race.
>> View gallery
>>
>> <http:///photos/photo-taken-nov-16-2006-richard-d-kinder-photo-180425430--election.html>
>> In this photo taken Nov. 16, 2006, Richard D. Kinder, left, and his wife
>> Nancy attend a Houston Rock …
>>
>> A core group of 12 men and two women makes up the super PAC's executive
>> committee — and shows Bush's appeal to some of the Republican Party's most
>> influential and longest-serving presidential fundraisers. Each has either
>> personally given $1 million, or helped raise at least that amount, for
>> Right to Right.
>>
>> Many are longtime associates of the Bush family, which already includes
>> two presidents.
>>
>> Nancy Kinder, president of the Kinder Foundation, a philanthropy in
>> Houston, and her husband, billionaire energy executive Richard Kinder,
>> helped raise money for the presidential campaigns of Bush's father and
>> brother. Jeanne Phillips, senior vice president of Hunt Consolidated Inc.,
>> led President George W. Bush's inaugural committees.
>>
>> Other core Jeb Bush fundraisers were instrumental in 2012 GOP nominee
>> Mitt Romney's campaign. Chicago investors Craig Duchossois and Muneer
>> Satter raised and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Romney's
>> bid.
>>
>> Romney's campaign finance director, Mason Fink, is the leading fundraiser
>> for Right to Rise.
>>
>> __
>>
>> Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Eric D. Schwerin
>> RSP Investments, LLC
>> 1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW Suite 715
>> Washington, DC 20007
>> (202) 446-0493
>> [email-masked]
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>
>
> --
>
> Alexander Snyder Mackler
> (302) 598-8678
>

-- 

Alexander Snyder Mackler
(302) 598-867