Democracy 101 that features anecdotes of political practices in
so-called Advanced Democracies in contradistinction to the fledgling
democracies of the boonies. Tongue in cheek. Well, sort of...)
(The following is the transcript of parts of a conference call @POTUS
had with big democratic donors on Friday, June 29. Obama was aboard
Air Force One on his way back to DC from Colorado Springs where he
went to see firsthand the devastation wreaked by wildfires. The
18-minute recording was given to Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast by one
of the plutocrats Obama was begging money from! In addition to Daily
Beast's, I toss in some of my own attributions between brackets.)
(Page Address: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/30/exclusive-president-obama-asks-campaign-donors-to-send-him-more-money.html)
OBAMA'S SOLILOQUY
"The majority [of you guys] on this call maxed out to my campaign last
time. I really need you to do the same [fucking thing] this time.
"I'm asking you to meet or exceed what you did in 2008.
"Because we're going to have to deal with these super PACs in a serious way.
"And if we don't, frankly I think the political [fucking] [scene] is
going to be changed permanently.
"Because the special interests that are financing my opponent's
campaign are just going to consolidate themselves.
"They're gonna [fucking] run Congress and the White House.
"In 2008 everything was new and exciting about our campaign.
"And now I'm the incumbent president. I've got gray hair. People have
seen disappointment because folks had a vision of change happening
immediately. And it turns out change is [fucking] hard, especially
when you've got an obstructionist Republican Congress.
"Nevertheless, we've gotten more done in the last three years than
most presidents do in eight years…
"I just hope you guys haven't become disillusioned. I hope all of you
still understand what's at stake and why this is so [fucking]
important…
"I still believe in you guys, and I hope you still believe in me and
the possibilities of this campaign.
"The special interests that are financing my opponent's campaign are
just going to consolidate themselves.
"They're gonna [fucking] run Congress and the White House.
"We don't have to match these guys dollar for dollar because we've
got a better grassroots operation and we've got a better message.
"The American people—the nice thing is they agree with our message
when they hear it. We just can't be drowned out … A few billionaires
can't drown out millions of voices.
"[Both Romney and me got to fucking release monthly reports on our
fundaising drives] and that could be a double-edged sword.
"The downside is that the media hear these numbers and hyperventilate
over it, and there's a tendency to blow them out of [fucking]
proportion. But it does make the process more transparent. We see
where we stand. And right now on a month-to-month basis, we've fallen
behind.
"Last month the Romney campaign raised 76 million dollars. We raised
60 million dollars.
[That could potentially fuck up] our planning for whether or not we
are gonna [fucking] go on the air in Florida or Ohio or any of these
battleground states, how much advertising we buy, what we spend when
it comes to organizing teams.
"The truth is that early money is always more valuable than late
money. And what we don't want to do is be in a situation where,
because everybody thinks that somehow we're gonna [fucking] win or
people will just think Mr. Romney doesn't know what he's talking
about—and then suddenly we get surprised later because it turns out
that a couple of billionaires wrote 20 million dollar checks and have
bought all the TV time and we find ourselves flat-footed in September
or October…
"We've got to make sure that we purchase advertising through August
and September before the conventions.
"I think it's fair to say that if we wait till the last minute we
could be in for a pretty rude surprise, and that's part of what we're
trying to avoid.
"[Jesus fucking Christ!]
"I can't do this by myself, and the progress we've made could unravel
pretty quickly.
"[Pitch in] today or as soon as possible.
"We've got to have the resources to make the choice crystal clear for
the American people both in the air and on the ground.
"The good news is we're spending a lot more money on our ground game
and grassroots organizing and voter registration.
"We just can't be outspent 10 to 1. That's what happened in Wisconsin
recently. The [fucking] Koch brothers and their allies spent more than
the other side's entire campaign—our [fucking] side's entire
campaign."
"We're facing a much different opponent than last time.
"I don't mean just the candidate—although last time we were running
against somebody who at least believed in climate change, believed in
campaign-finance reform, believed in immigration reform.
"It's also because the landscape's changed because of the Supreme
Court ruling Citizens United.
"We are going to see more money spent on negative ads through these
super PACs and anonymous outside groups than ever before. And if
things continue as they have so far, I'll be the first [fucking]
sitting president in modern history to be outspent in his reelection
campaign."
***
PHOTO: "President Obama returns to the White House after his Friday
trip to Colorado to observe damage from wildfires" (Daily Beast).
PHOTO CREDITS: Ron Sachs / Getty Images-pool
Via: www.thedailybeast.com
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