Last night, Cory Booker attempted to walk back his Bain Capital comments yet again, this time on the Rachel Maddow show. Why is he even bothering? The damage is already done. The left now sees him as a traitor to the class struggle, bought and paid for, as Cornell West is fond of saying, by the Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats.
Let’s imagine they’re right, and Booker said what he said because he thinks the Bain attacks are unpopular with his constituents and donors on Wall Street. If that’s the case, shouldn’t Obama take his comments even more seriously? Back in 2008, Obama was the top candidate recipient of donations from the securities and investment industry, raising more than $16 million. So far in 2012, he has raised $2 million. So…maybe Booker has a point.
Still, liberal bloggers are pushing the issue in an effort to run damage control for the Obama campaign. Booker has apparently taken donations from Bain higher-ups over the years, and Think Progress seized on this scandalous scandal as proof of his treachery:
Contributions to his 2002 campaign from venture capitalists, investors, and big Wall Street bankers brought him more than $115,000 for his 2002 campaign. Among those contributing to his campaign were John Connaughton ($2,000), Steve Pagliuca ($2,200), Jonathan Lavine ($1,000) — all of Bain Capital. While the forms are not totally clear, it appears the campaign raised less than $800,000 total, making this a significant percentage.
He and his slate also jointly raised funds for the “Booker Team for Newark” joint committee. They received more than $450,000 for the 2002 campaign from the sector — including a pair of $15,400 contributions from Bain Capital Managing Directors Joshua Bekenstein and Mark Nunnelly. It appears that for the initial campaign and runoff, the slate raised less than $4 million — again making this a sizable chunk.
In all — just in his first mayoral run — Booker’s committees received more than $565,000 from the people he was defending. At least $36,000 of that came from folks at Romney’s old firm.
In other words, they’re going further than just attacking Romney’s tenure at Bain. They’re now claiming the firm itself is so poisonous that even taking money from its executives is enough to taint a politician.
This attack becomes problematic because both Obama and the DNC have taken large contributions from Bain employees, including several of the executives accusatorily cited in the Think Progress article. Bain’s Managing Partner Steve Pagliuca, and Managing Directors Jonathan Lavine and Mark Nunnelly have already given the maximum donation to the Obama campaign and the DNC for the 2012 campaign cycle, each contributing $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund 2012 and $30,800 to the campaign committee.
Lavine has also been one of Obama’s top bundlers, raising over $100,000* for him so far this cycle.
And yet Think Progress is trying to smear Booker by saying these Bain executives kicked his campaign a few thousand dollars each back in 2002?
It doesn’t look good. Some of the Bain executives listed are long-time DNC donors, and what are they getting for it now? A $700 million dollar national campaign against their company? Targeted attacks from Democratic think tank bloggers? That kind of treatment isn’t going to inspire confidence in potential Obama donors watching from the sdelines.
*I initially wrote that Lavine raised over $1 million – that was actually the number of total contributions he’s given to all federal candidates, parties and PACs since 1990, according to OpenSecrets.
It's great when they start eating their own young, isn't it?
What goes around comes around. nThe summum of hypocrisy. Just like lady "Holland" the girlfriend of the new Frenchy Pr. nShe is getting many millions of $ every year. nPoor socialists and Melenchon! He did not see IT coming. The Gauche caviar. Not different from the "US caviar".
I can't believe such an important American election is being fought on this contrived issue. Obama's people are not only desperate but stupid too. (I realise this is not news, just another manifestation of what we already know. Nevertheless, it is surprising that they have chosen an issue that kills the goose that laid the golden eggs in the past. n nWhat can we say about the geese that bestowed their golden eggs on the haters of Wall Street, capitalism and the American way of life?
It does jumble the mind some when reading of Bain execs bundling contributions to re-elect a man who makes a major speech declaring our capitalist economy and federation of states form of government has never worked. Are they monster cynics or monster bozos? Do they love and cherish Obama, or whoever he is, more than they love and cherish their lively hood and their liberty?
PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association__MoneyTree™ Report, Data: Thomson Reuters __Total U.S. Investments by Year Q1 1995 – Q1 2012____ nExamples of Venture Capital Investments in America’s economy:____ n1995 – no. Deals = 1,895……Touptal Invested=$ 8,000,800,800__ n1996 – no. Deals = 2,638…..Total Invested =$11,368,622,700__ n1997 – no. Deals = 3,225…..Total Invested = $14,921,555,800__ n1998 – no. Deals = 3,726…..Total Invested = $21,321,762,200__ n1999 – no. Deals = 5,590…..Total Invested = $54,652,295,600__ n2000 – no. Deals = 8,026….Total Invested =$105,248,841,700__ n2001 – no. Deals = 4,579…..Total Invested = $41,032,408,600__ n2002 – no. Deals = 3,187…..Total Invested = $22,172,810,800__ n2003 – no. Deals = 3,005…..Total Invested = $19,682,792,300__ n2004 – no. Deals = 3,183…..Total Invested = $23,193,440,700__ n2005 – no. Deals = 3,270…..Total Invested = $23,594,179,800__ n2006 – no. Deals = 3,837…..Total Invested = $27,471,982,500__ n
Post Cont'd. n n2007 – no. Deals = 4,410…..Total Invested = $31,848,274,600__ n2008 – no. Deals = 4,128…..Total Invested = $30,012,895,200__ n2009 – no. Deals = 3,080…..Total Invested = $20,132,636,800__ n2010 – no. Deals = 3,564…..Total Invested = $23,343,932,100__ n2011 – no. Deals = 3,752…..Total Invested = $29,119,041,600__ n2012 – no. Deals = 758….. Total Invested = $ 5,751,846,300 (Q1 est. equals 08 thru 11) n n_Results from this small sampling:__ n17 year No. Deals Avg.= 6,238__17 year Total Invested Avg. = $29,829,800,000____ n nLowest years for No. Deal and Total Invested = 1995 to 1998/2002 to 2006/2009 to 2011__ nHighest years for no. Deals and Total Invested = 1999/2001/2007/2008 n nWeakest Government for Venture Capitalists = Clinton/Obama nStrongest government for Venture Capitalists = Bush I & Bush II n nAmerican Capitalism trumps socialism everytime. Deregulate, demicromanage, and stimulate with government reduced in size by 50%. God Bless America. Amen.
nThe banter of this article is incongruous and of bad faith. n nCory Booker is not being blamed for taking Bain money. He is being punished for lack of full disclosure. You cannot come on a national form like MTP and state a public remark that you are uncomfortable with remarks on equity capital issues – while FAILING to disclose that the reason is – Equity Capital has donated heavily too you. n nYou help make the case that Obama is far more a better person. For he and Cory are NOT responsible for who may donate to them. n nThey are, However, responsible for where their allegiances lay. n nObama, receiving VAST monies from Sachs, Bain, JP Morgan etc nStill says thank you for the donation – and sorry – but I am going to have to Reign you in. n nWhereas Cory, said thank you for the money and NO thank you to helping Obama's policy to reign in the economic quagmire that equity capital funds are doing.