For those criticizing Biden for going to a fundraiser at David L. Cohen's home last night...

[highplainsdem]

This article about President Obama, from November 2013:


https://whyy.org/articles/president-obama-fundraiser-in-mt-airy-draws-more-than-1-million-update/

President Barack Obama came to Northwest Philadelphia on Thursday night to attend a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser at the Mt. Airy home of David L. Cohen, the Comcast executive vice president who served as then-Mayor Ed Rendell’s chief-of staff.

It was a return visit for Obama, for whom a fundraiser was hosted at Cohen’s house on June 30, 2011 (among several similar events).

-snip-

Donors filled eight round tables in a large white tent in the backyard. On hand were Nutter and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Michael Bennet (D.- Colo.) among an estimated 120 guests at the $10,000 to $32,400 a plate dinner.

-snip-

Cohen, the host, kicked off the remarks by saying they were able to raise more than $1 million for the DSCC. He then introduced Obama with a riff on the Passover Seder song “Dayenu,” which centers on gratitude.

-snip-

Washington Post article on the 2011 dinner Cohen threw as a fundraiser for Obama, mentioned in the second paragraph I quoted there:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/obama-raises-more-than-1-million-in-philadelphia/2011/06/30/AGbI5nsH_blog.html

PHILADELPHIA — President Obama raised more than $1.2 million at two campaign fundraisers here Thursday night, the last events of his money-raising blitz in this early stage of the 2012 campaign.

Campaign officials said about 800 people, each giving at least $100, attended the first event, at a Hyatt hotel. Later in the evening, Comcast’s executive vice president, David L. Cohen, hosted about 120 people in his home for a dinner, each of the attendees giving at least $10,000 for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Among the attendees were Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D). Dinner was arranged by restaurateur Stephen Starr, whose popular eateries include Morimoto and Buddakan.

Cohen, a longtime Democratic operative, has successfully sheparded the regulatory review of Comcast’s merger with NBC Universal earlier this year.

He is not the only high-tech or telecom executive to show early support for Obama’s reelection bid. In San Francisco last spring, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff hosted a fundraiser for the president in his home, and Google executive Marissa Mayer has hosted a reported $30,000-a-head Democratic fundraiser featuring Obama last October.

-snip-

Anyway, I'm sure some will continue to snipe at Biden for his fundraising, too.

But please be aware that President Obama raised campaign funds at the same type of "swanky" dinners (to borrow the term Warren used to insult Biden's fundraising) thrown by the same person.

[applegrove]

1. Didn't mean to snipe. Just posting an article on candidates and how they

fundraise.

[Hassler]

2. +1

[leftofcool]

3. Biden is free to fundraise in what ever manner he deems fit for his own campaign

Other Democratic candidates are also free to not take money from Comcast executives

[AlexSFCA]

4. whichever way gets the best chance of beating trump

my thinking is that you need as much money as possible to go against billions that trump will have. This is not the time for purity tests.

[Cha]

5. "Swanky".. Well, Biden or whomever

is the candidate is going to need some of that "swanky" money, also, to fight the fascistrump.

Dems with money care about our country and Planet, too.

I don't think they're beholden to them for donating life blood into their campaigns.

Karl Rove thought mitt was going to win that election.. he had it all figured out.

Glad the Dems came through for us

Thanks for this, highplains!

[Honeycombe8]

6. Good point. Candidates & parties have to raise funds. Sounds like Cohen likes Dems. nt

[leftofcool]

7. Comcast also lobbyied against net neutrality

[Honeycombe8]

8. I read today Comcast is maybe going to do a tiered internet pricing schedule...

based on "fast lane" internet. Not sure what it is, but it has to do with there not being a rule protecting net neutrality any more. And it's not good for consumers or small web companies.

If we take back the W.H., we can change that back, I think.

But Cohen is an Exec VP there. He isn't the CEO. He is a Democrat, Wikipedia says. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L._Cohen

[leftofcool]

9. It doesn't matter is he is the CEO or VP, he works for Comcast

Therefore, Comcast is his first priority

[Honeycombe8]

10. Is your employer your first priority?

Reminder: Cohen supported Obama...who appointed the FCC chair who instituted the net neutrality rule.

[leftofcool]

11. I am retired. Since 1998

I wouldn't trust Comcast on a bet or any other large telecom company. They have an agenda and it isn't about being fair to the American people. You should check out their new "tier program."

[Honeycombe8]

12. As I said, Cohen is not Comcast. He supported Obama, who got the net neutrality rule passed.nt

[Cha]

17. That's an excellent point!

[Cha]

16. He's a Democrat with money

who cares about his country and our Planet.

[pnwmom]

21. Right. That's the opposite of internet neutrality. Comcast wants to charge people more money

to get the service we have now.

It will be much harder to change it back if our President doesn't strongly support it -- and I can't find any evidence that Biden does. In 2007 he didn't support an internet freedom bill that was being proposed then, that was supposed to protect the internet as we knew it.

[Demit]

26. David Cohen likes power.

He's a longtime mover and shaker in Philadelphia. It's not ideology that drives him. It's business.

"During the 2016 election, Cohen donated to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, along with the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, a group that poured money into the state that year to elect Donald Trump. This year, however, over 90 percent of Cohen’s political spending has gone to Republican groups, according to campaign finance disclosures."

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/25/joe-biden-presidential-bid-lobbyists-fundraiser/

[betsuni]

13. When other Democrats have nearly identical policies, attack them by insinuating they're corrupt.

It's . Eight years of having a Democratic president who took money from people working on Wall Street and for corporations, from wealthy donors, who benefited from PAC money, and not a shred of evidence it turned him into a Republican. But in 2016 suddenly this was a thing. Well, it's 2019, not a thing anymore. I wish they'd stop.

[pnwmom]

22. Where is your evidence that Biden supports internet neutrality despite its opposition by Comcast?

I've been looking for his position on that and can't find it. His website doesn't seem to have any policy positions yet.

[betsuni]

24. I didn't say anything about net neutrality and don't know.

Since it's been well over a decade since he voted on it (against it). I'm not going to assume corruption or that as president he'd veto a net neutrality bill because individuals affiliated with Comcast donated legal amounts of money.

[pnwmom]

25. I'd rather any President positively support internet neutrality and work to get it through Congress.

Not just be willing to sign it if it crosses his desk.

[More_Cowbell]

14. The point for me is that Biden is being disingenuous about how many of his contributions are small

If he'd just say "You need big donations to win these days," that'd be fine.

He's not the only one. Bernie Sanders also has a dark money PAC. Probably every candidate is taking big donations.

I think that most Democratic voters would be fine with the message "I'll take money in every legal way possible to beat Trump."

[BlueMTexpat]

20. + a million or so! eom

[Laelth]

32. Agreed. n/t

-Laelth

[NBachers]

15. There are those here who're beating the Comcast mule, and trying to get it to pull their wagon.

It really hasn't gotten any traction, so they'll just keep flogging it more in hopes that it will.

[pnwmom]

23. Where is your evidence that Biden supports internet neutrality? I've been looking and can't find any

[robbedvoter]

30. that was exactly my thought when I read it.

[pnwmom]

18. Six years ago we still had net neutrality, which Comcast opposes.

That is the context of current concern about the Comcast executive's fundraising for Biden.

[BlueMTexpat]

19. Biden is not among

my preferred candidates for many reasons.

But not for this one.

[sarabelle]

27. We need all lthe help we can get. It's not so much where the money comes from as

what you do when you are in office.

[JonLP24]

28. Keep in mind the reason I support Sanders & Warren

Is because of things just like this that Obama did.

[robbedvoter]

29. For a second, I was afraid you were going to say "Hillary did it too"

[Laelth]

31. Excellent OP. n/t

-Laelth