Millionaires launch liberal 'mutual funds'

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: CNN/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) – The term of choice in political giving these days is straight out of the world of finance — donors have become "investors." Now, liberal California venture capitalists have come up with the natural corollary — political "mutual funds." The new venture, being launched Monday, is the work of Andy and Deborah Rappaport's New Progressive Coalition, a San Francisco-based organization they like to call the Charles Schwab of politics.

Through a rigorous vetting system, the coalition identified 37 Democratic-leaning organizations and distributed them among three funds. The idea is to guide potential contributors through the myriad liberal causes and groups that dot the political landscape. For Andy Rappaport, the plan is simply a way of looking at political groups as startups and donors as the source of capital. It also is a way to expand a liberal donor base that Rappaport finds disturbingly small. "Progressive funding is in a pretty sorry state," he said in an interview.

The Rappaports are Silicon Valley millionaires and among the biggest contributors to liberal and Democratic political groups, along with financier George Soros and Hollywood producer Steve Bing. "We are really one of a very small handful of very large donors," Rappaport said. "Our view is that is an unstable and undesirable situation."

The effort is part of an evolution in liberal giving, where donors big and small are looking to organizations with proven track records or long-term missions instead of funding new, fleeting groups that disappear at the end of an election cycle.

A coalition of top dollar Democratic donors — the Democracy Alliance — met in Washington this month to hear formal presentations from established political groups eager for a share of the tens of millions of dollars the alliance is expected to have at its disposal. The alliance, whose membership is by invitation only, has helped finance such Democratic-leaning organizations as the New Democratic Network, Media Matters and the Center for American Progress. These are high-profile operations, some with big budgets, that seek to influence the political debate in Washington....

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/11/19/millionaires-launch-liberal-mutual-funds/#more-3227

[maseman]

1. I will be buying one

[Robbien]

2. New Dems and DLC/BlueDog organizations

with a token one or two non-"centrist" organizations.

[MadHound]

3. Better than that, eschew politics and buy into "white hat" funds

Funds that invest in alternative energy, non-tobacco, socially just, etc sort of corporations. I would much rather do that buy into a "political fund"

[peacetalksforall]

4. For years I've been adding 'stockholders' to the list of entities to

blame - barons and corporations.

Now, some better air, subject to degrees of what's better for various people.

I love good news for a change.

[Raine]

5. Interesing

I'll have to look into this further.