Date: 2024-09-27 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00003270 | |||||||||
Country ... USA | |||||||||
Burgess COMMENTARY | |||||||||
Who Was at Romney's '47 Percent' Fundraiser? Marc Leder, left, hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney at his Boca Raton home on May 17, 2012. Leder: Sun Capital Partners; Romney: Tina Fultz/Zuma As Mother Jones reported yesterday, speaking at a private fundraiser in Florida this May, Mitt Romney expressed his disdain for 'the 47 percent' of Americans who are 'dependent upon government,' 'believe that they are victims,' and 'will vote for the president no matter what.' The event was held at the Boca Raton home of private equity manager Marc Leder, who has donated $225,000 to the pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future and $63,330 to the Romney Victory PAC. Employees of his firm, Sun Capital Partners, have given more than $970,000 to the Romney campaign and its related PACs in this election cycle (including donations from spouses). So who else was on hand for Romney's 'off the cuff' remarks at Leder's spread on May 17? According to the TC Palm, 150 people attended the $50,000-per-plate event. The guest list hasn't been made public, but some possible attendees can be picked out of campaign finance records. A search for Florida-based donors brings up more than 30 people who gave $50,000 to the Romney Victory PAC between May 1 and May 17: Name Occupation Company City
A broader search for big Florida donors suggests some more contenders. For example, Bill Bain, the retired founder of Bain & Company and Bain Capital, who lives in Naples, gave $50,000 to the Romney campaign PAC on April 25, less than a month before the fundraiser. Might he have driven across the state to hear Romney talk in Boca Raton? Perhaps, but the Leder event was just one of several fundraising events Romney attended in Florida in this time period, including another in Boca the same day. We'll update this post as we try to confirm these and any additional names. 119 Corn on MSNBC: Romney Caught on TapeWe're Still at War: Photo of the Day for September 18, 2012 Senior Editor Dave Gilson is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Read more of his stories, follow him on Twitter, or contact him at dgilson (at) motherjones (dot) com. |