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How Silicon Valley’s secretive donor group plans to beat Trump
Recode ^ | Jan 7, 2020 | Theodore Schleifer

Posted on 01/09/2020 10:09:07 AM PST by george76

Mind the Gap, the secretive group quietly reshaping big-money politics in Silicon Valley, is aiming to spend as much as $140 million to boost Democrats in the 2020 election

...

one of the most powerful forces in Democratic politics. And the group is accomplishing this all behind the scenes — without any prior public scrutiny.

This network of Silicon Valley donors raised $20 million for Democratic causes and congressional candidates in advance of the midterms. But the group has far greater ambitions in a presidential cycle: Mind the Gap told prospective donors last fall that it had already raised at least $35 million in political contributions for voter registration efforts, which is part of a fundraising goal that could stretch to $100 million..

Mind the Gap is also seeking another estimated $30 million for get-out-the-vote work along with another estimated $10 million for “orphan races”

...

thanks to the arrival of a new fundraising aide, Erica Slates, who recently joined the effort from Jay Inslee’s now-ended presidential campaign.

..

Silicon Valley .. billionaires want to get rid of Donald Trump, so much so that they are willing to entrust millions of dollars to a trio of Stanford academics with no prior fundraising experience..

a new class of Democratic operatives and donors are disregarding concerns within their party about the role of money in politics and capitalizing on campaign-finance law to influence elections — with limited disclosure to the public.

Mind the Gap is now asking for a “minimum suggested contribution” of $40,000

...

In 2018, the group, which is led by Stanford law school professor Barbara Fried, raised about $500,000 for 20 different Democratic congressional challengers, many of whom were underdogs to win their bids. Ten of them won.

...

donations .. are tax-deductible

(Excerpt) Read more at vox.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: 2020election; barbarafried; democratdonors; democrats; election; etc; mindthegap; soros; stanford; stanfordu; steyer; tomsteyer

1 posted on 01/09/2020 10:09:07 AM PST by george76
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To: george76

Tax deductible, think about that.


2 posted on 01/09/2020 10:12:27 AM PST by gibsonguy
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To: george76

The stupid billionaires need to realize federal wealth taxation is possible.

The federal government can get around the constitutional capitation proportionality limitation by setting higher wealth tax rates for poorer states and then allowing a full income tax credit for the higher wealth tax rate amounts.

Mississippi rich folks would pay a higher wealth tax rate on April 14th and have the excess (and maybe a bit more) credited to their April 15th income tax amount.


3 posted on 01/09/2020 10:13:24 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: george76

The first rule of Secret Billionaire Donor Group is you DON’T talk about Secret Billionaire Donor Group.

Sheesh.


4 posted on 01/09/2020 10:14:29 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: george76

Democrats are going to try to buy the White House. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.


5 posted on 01/09/2020 10:14:31 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Brian Griffin

These guys are paying to be eaten last.


6 posted on 01/09/2020 10:15:00 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: Brian Griffin
The stupid billionaires need to realize federal wealth taxation is possible.

They are bribing the tiger to eat them last.


7 posted on 01/09/2020 10:15:48 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: george76

[[is aiming to spend as much as $140 million to boost Democrats in the 2020 election ...]]

Yeah because there’s so many republicans sitting around and thinking “Ya know what? Sure, the country is doing awesome, but what we really need is a democrat to crap everything up for us- i just wish there were enough ads to by liberals to change my mind about suppuration the greatest president ever”


8 posted on 01/09/2020 10:21:55 AM PST by Bob434
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To: gibsonguy

Preet Bharara is a corrupt Obama donor who viciously pursued Dinesh D’Souza and charged him with violating federal campaign finance laws.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/03/corrupt-obama-hack-preet-bharara-warns-trump-dont-mess-with-sdny-investigations/

Soros, Tom Steyer , and pals love these corrupt rules that allow foundations, donor-advised funds, and .. to write these gifts off under the name of “philanthropy” — even though the donations are routed by Democrat interest groups.


9 posted on 01/09/2020 10:23:44 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

It’s also possible to have an annual state-level sales privilege stock tax based on sales prorated like corporate income taxation.

If a large corporation with 100 million shares at $500/share gets 5% of its 2021 sales from California, a 2% sales privilege stock tax would mean the corporation would have to give the State of California 100,000 shares of stock, probably newly issued, by say March 1st 2022.

A “tax credit” of say $100,000 worth of stock might be allowed so most corporations wouldn’t have to pay the tax. The example corporation would have to cough up 99,800 shares (of a value of $49.9 million) after its tax credit to the State of California.


10 posted on 01/09/2020 10:29:56 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: george76

On the one hand it is alarming. On the other, when you consider how outspent Trump was in the last election, meh.

I don’t think money matters when you are leading a movement and Trump is leading a movement. The forgotten person v. the elitist/new-aristocracy is a very powerful movement.

One would think after the last election that had gotten stale. It hasn’t. Russiagate and the ongoing coup backed by the propaganda media has only strengthened Trump’s movement and proven they indeed the system is rigged.


11 posted on 01/09/2020 10:29:56 AM PST by FlipWilson
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To: george76

Washington, DC: The best government their money can buy.


12 posted on 01/09/2020 10:31:18 AM PST by polymuser (It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and so few by deceit. Noel Coward)
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To: FlipWilson

Democrats use ‘Ballot Harvesting’ to cheat.. that allows third parties (even illegal aliens) to submit ballots..

Democrats like Katie Hill stole the midterm election using ballot harvesting ..

Seven Republican seats in California were flipped to Dems weeks after the election.. One of those seats was “won” on election day by the first Korean-American elected to Congress… Young Kim..

Nationally, there are at least 3.5 million EXTRA names on voting rolls. LA County began process of removing 1.59 million of them.. ~ Tom Fitton.


13 posted on 01/09/2020 10:39:35 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: mewzilla

“These guys are paying to be eaten last.”

If Warren or Bernie wins in November, the foolish (and smart) rich will be paying federal wealth tax early in 2022, and every year thereafter.


14 posted on 01/09/2020 10:40:07 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Brian Griffin

No, they won’t.


15 posted on 01/09/2020 10:41:54 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: george76

If 20% of FReepers who have never donated, would give, then it’s no big deal.


16 posted on 01/09/2020 10:48:50 AM PST by Drango (1776 = 2020)
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To: george76

A seldom talked about issue in Silicon Valley is all the high tech scams.

Starfish Software
.com fake companies
The latest blood testing company
The Solar Panel company

Its more common than most think


17 posted on 01/09/2020 10:53:59 AM PST by Zathras
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To: george76

Irony: big money Rat group works to get candidates - who will ruin the nation’s economy - into the WH.


18 posted on 01/09/2020 10:55:43 AM PST by Theophilous Meatyard III
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To: FlipWilson

For the Presidential election, I would agree. However, local races are another story. My newly minted D rep had a huge head start in fundraising, thanks to these sort of groups. I wonder how much of those $$ go to the Indivisibles? They are nationwide, with “how to” manuals and a large network of pinkhats and other malcontents. They did make a difference in my district (PA06)


19 posted on 01/09/2020 11:39:32 AM PST by SueRae (An administration like no other.)
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To: george76

Where’s the “media” to smoke these totalitarians out?


20 posted on 01/09/2020 12:35:25 PM PST by A_Former_Democrat (Guns up . . . We cominÂ’ PS: Eric The Blower Ciaramella. PASS IT ON)
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