OTR: No problems here On Apr 30, 2015 3:00 PM, "Glenn Thrush" wrote: > No worries > Because I have become a hack I will send u the whole section that pertains > to u > Please don't share or tell anyone I did this > Tell me if I fucked up anything > > > Insiders expressed confidence in Dennis Cheng, the campaign’s relatively > unknown campaign finance director, whose selection was seen as a signal the > campaign was avoiding another mistake of ’08: The empowering of celebrity > donors who crowded out the younger, more aggressive bundlers who helped > power Barack Obama’s money machine. > > > > Yet in recent days, as Clinton has assessed her daunting challenge, it’s > become clear that the force behind the fundraising operation is campaign > chairman John Podesta, who has been quietly cultivating big donors and > coordinating fundraising strategy. > > > > Podesta, people close to the campaign, supports the Cheng-led strategy of > creating an army of small- to medium-scale campaign bundlers – a “flat” > fundraising structure that would give donors the sense of ownership in the > campaign. Podesta jokingly refers to himself as the “Sultan of Flat,” but > the older generation of Clinton fundraisers and donors interviewed over the > past two weeks said they believed the new structure would eventually give > way to a more conventional fundraising apparatus that would empower > mega-donors on the coasts. > > > > Managing the friction between the old lions of Clinton fundraising – who > have no use for the flat org chart -- and younger players Cheng hopes to > recruit won’t be easy. Cheng recently angered several former Obama > fundraisers by offering them their old regional finance jobs – even though > they had gone onto to bigger, more lucrative careers in Washington over the > years; They turned him down, according to a former Obama campaign official. > > > > Cheng has also been trying to reassure Obama bundlers and even former > lower level Clinton Administration aides, who have now grown to have > successful careers, that they won’t be left. "Their sense is that unless > they raise zillions of dollars, they're never going to be noticed and > certainly never going to infiltrate their already tight-knit inner circle, > so why bother," one New York-based fundraiser said. "Everyone knows who > Clinton's inner circle is, that they are going to raise a boat load of > money with relatively little effort, and that there is little that can be > done by a new person to make their mark > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Apr 30, 2015, at 3:06 PM, John Podesta wrote: > > Sure. Sorry for the delay I was on a plane. > On Apr 30, 2015 9:44 AM, "Glenn Thrush" wrote: > >> Can I send u a couple of grafs, OTR, to make sure I’m not fucking >> anything up? >> -- >> *Glenn Thrush* >> Chief Political Correspondent, POLITICO >> Senior Staff Writer, POLITICO Magazine >> Cell (call first): 202-731-4974 >> Desk: 703-647-8543 >> http://www.politico.com/reporters/GlennThrush.html >> >> From: John Podesta >> Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 6:34 PM >> To: Glenn Thrush >> Subject: Re: sorry to bother... >> >> OTR: not sure what you mean by the first issue. I'm the sultan of >> flat. My whole pitch is all are welcome and grow the network. >> On Apr 29, 2015 11:38 AM, "Glenn Thrush" wrote: >> >>> Hey sir— sorry to bother — OTR question >>> >>> Was working on a fundraising story (when Maggie and Matea’s stories >>> popped) >>> Been talking to bundlers who told me that one of the reasons you need to >>> get HRC out on the road was simply that the Hillfunders mid-level strategy >>> was getting enough traction and you had to mine the old 08 crowd a little >>> quicker than u thought… >>> Also- to be a pain in the ass — I’ve heard that u were never entirely on >>> board with the whole ‘flat’ idea in the first place. >>> Cheers/Thrush >>> -- >>> *Glenn Thrush* >>> Chief Political Correspondent, POLITICO >>> Senior Staff Writer, POLITICO Magazine >>> Cell (call first): 202-731-4974 >>> Desk: 703-647-8543 >>> http://www.politico.com/reporters/GlennThrush.html >>> >>> >>>