Old Obama Fundraisers Pushed Aside by Clintonite 'Whores'

The enthusiastic amateurs of 2008 have been replaced by "political animals"

President Obama is looking to raise $1 billion for his reelection campaign, but so far, he's doing it without a lot of the people who got him into office in the first place. Politico reports that 105 bundlers--people who package together tons of donations--who raised $200,00 or more for Obama in 2008 were not listed among the names of bundlers released last week. Where'd they go? Some are disillusioned by Obama's policies and some are confident he can win without them. But a lot have been pushed out by old pros once loyal to the Clintons. Add those pushed out to college kids, liberal bloggers, and Hollywood on the list of people who don't think Obama's cool anymore.

A 2008-era bundler told Politico:

"I would bet you that 90 something [of former bundlers] are guys like me--we still love the president, but we did it because we believe in the cause... But now we're getting bumped by the old Clinton folks. This is what they do for a living. They're animals and they're political whores and they want the access and the credit."

Another, lawyer Willard Taylor, hosted on of the first Obama fundraisers in 2007 in New York, but his enthusiasm has cooled:

"I will obviously vote, but I don’t think we’re going to be actively involved in raising money... I think he's done a terrible job with Organizing for America and for his base, and with the recognition of the people who worked for him... I frankly think the staff, the reelection staff, are incompetent fools."

But it's not just that the Clinton donors are pursuing Obama now that he's in power. The Obama campaign has worked hard to court them, the Associated Press reports:

The Obama campaign made a concerted effort to recruit former bundlers for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, hosting small dinners with the president to let him make the pitch to them directly. Some of the top former Clinton donors raising money for Obama include [ex-New Jersey Gov. Jon] Corzine, a former top executive with Goldman Sachs, Marc Lasry of the New York hedge fund Avenue Capital, Los Angeles investment banker John Emerson and Miami lawyer Chris Korge.

 

"They reached out and many of us were willing to do it," said Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles based communications strategist and former Clinton bundler. "This president has accomplished a lot and we want him to be re-elected."

 

It's hard when your old flame moves on. But eventually, most people learn how to wish them the best, almost completely sincerely.