Senator Clinton sets record million-dollar goal for donors

NYT: Clinton Setting a $1 Million Goal for Donors
By PATRICK HEALY and JEFF ZELENY
Published: February 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is establishing record-setting goals for presidential campaign fund-raising, her advisers say, asking donors to raise at least $1 million for the honor of being in her top echelon of supporters.

That million-dollar benchmark is 10 times the amount that President Bush’s “Pioneers” were expected to raise in his 2000 race; at that time, the Pioneers’ $100,000 goal was considered sizable.

Clinton advisers said the new fund-raising levels, laid out in meetings of finance team members this week, would help achieve their goal of raising $75 million in 2007. At least $15 million is expected from New York, Mrs. Clinton’s home base, the advisers said.

Precise fund-raising goals and numbers of donors are not yet known by the campaign, with the major meeting of the finance team planned for next Wednesday.

Several Clinton fund-raisers said in interviews that they expected dozens of donors to reach the tier of $500,000 — in part because of the star power at their disposal. The campaign has lined up surrogates for Mrs. Clinton at Democratic fund-raisers around the country; among them are former President Bill Clinton and a senior campaign adviser, Ann Lewis.

“It will be almost impossible for any other candidate to raise the money that the Clintons can raise,” said John Catsimatidis, a New York fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/us/politics/02democrats.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

she's going to owe so much to corporations and elite interests. Politics just makes me sick these days.

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