[EL] Gay Donors Get Creative In Super PAC America

[Matt Taylor]

http://nationalmemo.com/article/gay-donors-activists-super-pacs-citizens-united-obama-tammy-baldwin

Gay Donors Get Creative In Super PAC America

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 1:24am —
Matt Taylor
In this Citizens United era of unregulated campaign cash, gay  
activists and donors are finding innovative ways to reward Barack  
Obama, who despite his equivocation on marriage equality is often  
lauded as the greatest friend to the LGBT community of any president  
in American history.

The reemergence of social issues on the presidential campaign trail,  
coupled with the reversal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that  
prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, has  
helped Obama improve his standing with this key segment of the liberal  
base, a vital source of campaign funds for any Democrat running a  
presidential campaign.

"This kind of Republican campaign has mobilized the community like I  
haven’t seen since 1992," said David Mixner, a veteran progressive  
strategist Newsweek once called the most powerful gay man in America.  
"There's a lot at stake. I have no doubt people will be involved in  
some way in Super PACs. You can count on the major donors of this  
community dong whatever they have to do to assist in the re-election  
of this president."

The newest tool with which the well-heeled can influence campaigns,  
Super PACs are independent committees that can accept unlimited  
donations from individuals thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens  
United decision and subsequent lower court rulings. And while most of  
the attention they have received so far this campaign has been on  
their providing a few billionaires with disproportionate influence on  
the Republican presidential primary, gay donors on the left are  
exploring Super PACs as well.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory fund, which works to bring more gays and  
lesbians into public office, recently embraced the new Citizens United  
terrain, expanding its traditional political action committee into a  
"hybrid PAC" that allows it to collect unlimited donations with a  
Super PAC so long as the two entities keep their bank accounts separate.

At the grassroots level, two activists in San Francisco launched  
"Pride PAC," which bills itself "a Super PAC dedicated to social media  
advocacy for LGBT issues and the re-election of President Barack Obama."

"Our goal is to raise a million dollars by the summer," said Marcus  
Lovingood, a 26-year-old social media entrepreneur and one of the  
group's founders.

The rise of the presidential campaign of former Senator Rick Santorum,  
notorious for comparing gay marriage to bestiality, has been a  
convenient reminder of the scary alternative in an environment where  
Obama still feels bound by political calculation not to support  
marriage equality. He has described his views as "evolving" on that  
issue, and for now, evolution is enough, as evidenced by his raking in  
a cool $1.4 million at a $35,800-per-plate Washington, D.C. LGBT  
fundraiser last month.

"Beyond the widespread support the president has clearly earned, every  
election ends up being a choice between option A and option B, and  
that contrast will be hugely in the president's favor," said Bill  
Smith, a strategist who has worked extensively with Tim Gill, the  
software mogul who in knocking off state legislators hostile to gay  
rights before they can become national figures has reshaped American  
politics.

In the wake of passage of marriage equality in New York, gay donors  
rewarded moderate Republican state legislators who broke ranks to get  
on the right side of history. And conversations with strategists and  
operatives close to some of the bigger gay donors in America, many of  
whom are based in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and New York, suggest  
an all-of-the-above approach: regular campaign contributions, Super  
PAC donations, state-level organizing campaigns, and more, with  
protecting Obama and boosting Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin, poised to  
be the first openly gay U.S. Senator, as their top priorities.

"As election law changes, you have to adapt to what the opportunities  
are," said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund. "The  
ability to use a Super PAC on the federal level is a tool we would not  
want to ignore."

Many donors and organizations are focused on Baldwin. She faces an  
uphill climb in a state that turned hard to the right in 2010, and the  
community sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; Smith called  
her candidacy the "Holy Grail" of gay politics.

"It’s without a doubt our highest priority race of 2012," Wolfe said.  
"Winning a seat in the U.S. Senate would be a wonderful thing. And it  
sends a dramatic message that the country continues to move forward in  
its understanding of what it means for everyone to be included."

While it remains unclear whether the new campaign finance environment  
will actually bring more total money into campaigns or just draw  
attention to a few mega-donors, for now, the community is exploring  
every weapon in its arsenal.

"If they max out with a federal candidate, then they have the  
opportunity to participate with our Super PAC," Wolfe added. "So far,  
we’re feeling good."


Matt Taylor, Political Correspondent
The National Memo
matt at nationalmemo.com
(347) 273-1636 (office)
(646) 783-8585 (mobile)
@matthewt_ny (twitter)





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