Democrats Miss Marks to Finance Convention (NYT 5/28/08)

[Muttocracy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/us/politics/28convention.html

The Democratic Party is struggling to raise money for its convention in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with fund-raising by the host committee falling far short of the party’s goals and lagging behind the Republicans’ efforts for their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

So far, the Denver host committee is about $15 million short of the $40.6 million it must raise by June 16. With only $25 million raised so far, the committee is scrambling to offer a new round of special deals for corporate underwriters, as well as to devise a backup plan should the fund-raising fall short and plans for the convention need to be scaled down.

...
There are many reasons that have been floated for the money woes faced by the Denver committee. It is not uncommon for host committees to lag in fund-raising, only to see large donations arrive in the month before the convention. And some are concerned that the protracted nominating fight between Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has made fund-raising more difficult.

The Democrats’ situation contrasts markedly with that of the Republicans, whose committee is on budget in its $39 million fund-raising drive for the Republican National Convention, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1-4. Teresa McFarland, a spokeswoman for the host committee, said it expected to meet its June 15 target of having 80 percent of the money raised by that date.

continues at link

[gateley]

1. This is upsetting. I'll keep my fingers crossed,

and send in a donation.

[Muttocracy]

2. wouldn't it be nice if it didn't require corporate donations

from defense, auto, beer (Cindy McCain??), soda, pharmaceutical, insurance, telecomm, credit card, retail, and finance corpoartions? Sigh.

[woolldog]

3. I thought this thread was about some fabulously wealthy woman

named Miss Marks, who was financing the convention. Doh.

[dbmk]

4. Me too :)

[Muttocracy]

5. I guess it would have needed different puncutation - Democrats' ? :)

[progdog]

6. Me Too!

n/t