His quick tour of the Westin hotel Downtown lasted less than half an hour, but the president managed to reel in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash for the Democratic National Committee and four incumbents in Congress. The precise amount raised was not immediately available.
After leaping onto a ballroom stage in front of 650 people who dined on honey chicken breasts, cheesecake and champagne orzo, Obama proclaimed, "It's good to be back in Indiana."
"It reminds me of why I like getting out of Washington so much: People are friendly," he said to a round of laughter. "It brings back a lot of memories from all those days out here on the campaign trail. So, I want to start out tonight by saying thank you, thank you to all of you here in Indiana. I know that I'm here tonight because of you." . . .
About 650 people paid between $250 and $5,000 to hear Obama's 15-minute speech and support the four congressmen.Yves Kongolo, 25, Noblesville was one of them.
"Every time the president gives a speech, it motivates everybody," he said. "I got a handshake and a hug from the first black president of the United States. So of course, it was worth it.
"Obama also made a brief appearance at a DNC fundraiser in a small conference room filled with 30 to 40 people. That event cost $15,000 per couple, and the president spoke for less than five minutes.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
$15,000 For Five Minutes With Obama
That's how much wealthy Democrats paid to hear Obama speak briefly at the Westin Hotel late this afternoon at a fundraiser benefitting the Democratic Party. People who paid $500 to $5,000 at a fundraiser for U.S. Reps. Andre Carson, Joe Donnelly, Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill got to hear Obama for about 15-20 minutes. His entire trip in Indianapolis lasted less than half an hour. The Star's Bill Ruthhart reports:
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Who pays for the expense of security, etc. for this? Has to be more costly than merely flying over NYC for photos.
How does a 25 year old kid get his hands on $5,000 that he can just throw away like that?
The DNC is legally required to reimburse the federal government for the cost of the Indianapolis trip since because the purpose of the trip was political.
Who? Yves Kongolo? Why he's the executive director of the nonprofit Central African Republican Renaissance Foundation in Noblesville. http://car-renaissance.org/aboutus.html.
"Kids" today throw out thousands of dollars for those whacky 'spinner' hubcaps. But this individual could have bought into the $250 end of the price range rather than the top end. I'll assume he used his own money and not his NFP's.
Gary, it's 'Republic' not 'Republican'. You made me do a double take on that!
Thanks for the correction, Downtown Indy.
In politics is a very reasonable, because a leader needs the support of citizens in that country
Obama's 5 minute speech to the small group:
Well, I'll tell you up front that I'm probably not gonna speak for very long - I don't have my teleprompter. One of the things that us folks in politics learn very quickly is that money is power. Without your money, folks like myself would be powerless, so I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart (you bought me - tell me what you want).
I don't have time to go into detail, but we have incredible plans and a lot of work ahead of us. Starting with our young and our youth, we need to challenge them to join us in our effort to bring back vitality and community service to our neighborhoods (mandatory national service). There will be many difficult days ahead and we need to be ready and able to make the decisions necessary to help our communities remain strong and viable (planned parenthood/abortion), especially the sick (national healthcare) and the elderly (euthanasia).
We have three immediate and pressing challenges that I'm going to ask each of you to support.
The first is the threat from climate change. One solution that we're working towards is a carbon credit program, where those who do the most damage to the environment pay into the program and those who create solutions to help the environment will receive from the program (using global warming hysteria as justification to increase taxation). Another solution is our increasing efforts to become a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, committing ourselves to meeting global standards that require us to clean our air by reducing emissions and mandating clean technologies (heavy industry will be forced out to low-cost, unregulated 3rd world countries).
Our second challenge is the threat of global economic decline. Over the last 6 months we've witnessed the spending of hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out corporations who have failed to regulate themselves. The impact to the average American taxpayer is inexcusable. And if important safety mechanisms are not put in place, the potential impact to the global economy will be catastrophic. We are working with the G-20 nations, the IMF, and the World Bank to implement a new, higher standard that will hold our corporate citizens accountable for their failures (first steps of a formal global economy). As we work towrds repairing the damage, we're also beginning to understand that the risks of allowing private finance to impact our national economy are simply too great to continue. As the bailout continues, we will be implementing new procedures that promise to keep banks in check by making them accountable to the people of this country rather than to the bottom line (federal/private partnership: profits are private, losses are public).
And third challenge, the global struggle for democracy. As I speak, our soldiers in Afghanistan are facing increased resistance from Taliban insurgents who are emanating from the remote valleys of Pakistan. We remain resolute in our commiment to sustain Afghanistans fledgling democracy, and to contribute to stability within the region by providing aid to those allies who need it most (we're gonna start deploying troops throughout Pakistan). The situation in Iraq is better but stability remains elusive (we ain't leaving Iraq). And we continue to face threats ranging from piracy in the Indian Ocean (get ready for action in Somalia), instability on the Korean Peninsula (keeping up the threat level), and a resurence of tensions between our allies in Georgia and their Russian neighbors to the north (we're re-supplying Georgia and the Russians are ticked).
I want to thank you again for your support. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm confident that witho your support we will be successful. Without you, I wouldn't be in the position to help this great country (help absorb it into a single economic system, while using your kids and wealth to force other nations to do the same). I'm committed to change that everyone can believe in. I'm counting on you guys for the same. Thank you for coming today (suckers).
This didnt seem to be an issue when George Bush or Rudy Guiliani were flying into the city for fundraisers..I guess the concern is only when a Dem does it...republicans are entitled and can do whatever they want. Advance Indiana is correct in that the party had to cover expenses due to it being a political trip.
It wasn't apparent (to me) what a trip on AF-1 cost, until just a few weeks ago.
At least this time,there weren't also 3 Marine helos circling Indy for several hours while Clinton played golf a few years back. Or maybe they were and I didn't see them this time.
Hey, as long as the fund 'raiser' raises enough to at least cover the cost, they can knock themselves out. Let the national committee pick up the tab. It's not taxpayer money. For once, they are being fiscally irresponsible with THEIR OWN money, not ours.
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