Billionaire George Soros throws some more money to the left

An organization backed by billionaire George Soros and other wealthy liberals spread $5.2 million to an array of left-leaning groups in the first quarter of the year, a campaign finance report filed today shows.

The Fund for America, an independent campaign group created by Soros, San Franciscan Rob McKay (a Taco Bell heir), and the Service Employees International Union, raised $4.1 million in the first 90 days of the year, pushing the total money harvest since its creation late last year to $10.8 million.

Soros gave $1 million to the group in February after giving $2.5 million in December. Los Angeles producer Stephen Bing chipped in $2.5 million in January, and Lee Fikes of Bonanza Oil Co., in Dallas, gave a measly $300,000, according to the report filed with the Internal Revenue Service, which oversees so-called 527 campaign organizations.

The Fund for America, in turn, donated money to an array of liberal and antiwar groups including $1.5 million to the Campaign to Defend America, $500,000 to America Votes; $200,000 to ACORN; and $100,000 to VoteVets.org.

It gave lesser amounts to organizations in several states including Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota, all of which could be important swing states in the November general election.

A conservative organization, Freedom’s Watch, had used Soros’ involvement in Internet-based fundraising in its own appeals earlier this year. Freedom’s Watch was created last year as a conservative answer to such groups.

At that time the New York Times reported that Freedom’s Watch would be funded with as much as $200 million. But the same newspaper recently said the group had fallen far short of its goals. Haven't we all?

“I had heard they were going to spend $100 million," a Republican consultant told The Times' Dan Morain the other day, "but I haven’t seen them spend 25 cents.”

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Patrick Reynolds]

Mr. Malcolm,
"While it is not true that all conservative people are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative." John Stuart Mill
As a liberal, the comfort I find in that quote is the finiteness of financial resources available to conservatives.

[jennifer potenciano]

it's news to this chap that the greek billionaire businessman george soros has donated vast sums of money to left-leaning groups.

in light of his alleged involvement in the economy-shrinking asian financial crisis in 1997 or thereabouts (where soros was said to have experimented on his theory on hot money in a given economy, which, unfortunately, was an asian country's, such as thailand's, whose eventual damage spilled over to neighboring countries, including my country, the philippines) it looks like soros's act is a mea culpa of a sort, a making amends.

that's a lot better than reprising his act all over again.

people like soros are beautiful people, as you sub-headed your story. your description of them is pretty accurate, for, if i remember right, it's a lifting of the transcript of the famous conversation between, i think, "the great gatsby" author himself, f. scott fitzgerald, who told the american literary giant, ernest hemingway that "the rich are different from you & me." to which hemingway riposted: "yes, they have more money."

is it possilbe to know mr. soros's email address so we can communicate with him on what other groups to help--& how he can be helped, to live longer so he can help more, possibly third world peoples?

thank you so much.

[Le Baron]

As someone else once pointed out, George Soros is like a figure from a James Bond movie - a billionaire who makes his money in dodgy international finance schemes and then feels he has earned the right to rule the world.

The doddering old fool's efforts to buy Obama the U.S. presidency through his minions at moveon.org etc. would be sad if it weren't so scary that they might succeed in putting such a malleable youngster into office

Le Baron

[What's his face ?]

To : Jennifer potenciano
You are not well informed about this evil man . George
Soros is a Hungarian Jewish financier who amassed an
immense fortune speculating on foreign currencies . His
savage runs at weak currencies ruined countless small
investors and created huge inflation and misery. He is
also involved since day one in moove on org., wich is the
most far-left ,anti-American propaganda machine polluting
our air waves. Soros has a web site..Just punch in his
name.

[Patrick Reynolds]

To: What's his face?
Your comment regarding Moveon.org as "the most far-left, anti-American propaganda machine polluting our airwaves" is unfortunate, unoriginal and untrue. Moveon.org is definitely critical of the American government but that doesn't make it anti-American.
I know this distinction can be difficult for conservatives to make due to their famously rigid, black and white view of the world - a view that I understand but find uninspiring in it's child-like simplicity. When I was 6 years old my parents could do no wrong, at least that was my perception. When I grew up I became aware of the gap between "my perception" and reality. That awareness hasn't stopped me from loving my parents. Simpleton!

[Panskeptic]

George Soros voted with his feet to leave the land of his birth because he didn't want to live under Communist tyranny.

He is now a proud American, a talented capitalist and a foe of totalitarianism. It drives conservatives crazy that he does not walk in lockstep like all the other dittoheads, and give his money to reactionaries.

Someone that rich is supposed to be a Republican, but he dislikes the urge towards dictatorship and the rank incompetency that Bush embodies.

However Soros's patriotism can't be questioned, along with his hatred of dictators of all kinds.