Dubbing FOD “a super PAC that hates super PACs,” the Washington Post noted in July 2012: “Like all super PACs, Friends of Democracy will be able to raise unlimited funds from wealthy individuals, corporations or unions—precisely the kind of system that the group is fighting against.” But in fact, FOD is somewhat of a hybrid between a PAC and a Super PAC; i.e., it is permitted to raise unlimited sums of money from individuals and corporations, and to make contributions (of up to $5,000) directly to federal candidates.
One of FOD’s three co-founders and directors, Jonathan Soros—the son of billionaire financier George Soros—said in a 2012 interview in Washington: “We openly acknowledge the irony of being a super PAC trying to address money in politics. But our goal is to eventually decrease the influence of this kind of group.... We don’t see any other path to real legislative change.” Claiming that his father was not involved in FOD, Jonathan Soros gave $100,000 in seed money to help the organization get off the ground.
Another FOD founder and director is political strategist Ilyse Hogue, who has worked for and with a host of progressive groups. Shortly before joining FOD, Hogue served as a senior adviser to Media Matters for America, and as director of political advocacy and communications for MoveOn.org.
The third founder and director of FOD is David Donnelly, who previously (2008-10) served as campaign manager of the Campaign for Fair Elections, a multi-organizational national initiative that tried to pass the comprehensive Fair Elections Now Act (FENA), legislation designed to purge the political process of large contributions from big-money donors, bundlers, and lobbyists. FENA would permit candidates for federal office to accept only small campaign donations—limited to $100 apiece—of which each dollar would, in turn, be matched by $5 in public funds.
Utilizing television ads, mass mailings, and Web messaging to portray Republican candidates as beholden to corporations, FOD’s modus operandi is to try to publicly embarrass these candidates (if they oppose FOD’s brand of campaign-finance reform) and their biggest donors. “We want to make sure there is a political cost associated with opposing reform and accountability,” says co-director Ilyse Hogue.
In the 2012 election cycle, FOD spent $2,462,566 on political activities. Of the $11,175 that FOD gave directly to candidates’ campaigns, 100% went to Democrats.
No liberal lives by the rules they demand you live by. It’s the cause they stand for, not the example they set that matters!