I've got some money and it's burning a hole in my pocket.
I work hard for my money and while I can be generous, I'm also discriminating. Because I work long, sometimes unpredictable hours, with frequent travel, I'm not a particularly good candidate for campaign volunteering. So I donate cash. I do this when I believe in the cause, and it's almost never because I'm asked (some fundraising firm from California got hold of my mobile number despite it being on the do not call list and has been calling incessantly). I won't answer and I wouldn't given them money if I did. They've been disqualified, regardless of the cause — and they probably take a good chunk for themselves. Yes, I get the emails from a half-dozen Dem and liberal political groups asking for money.
But what are the rules? Am I allowed now, to give the max to a campaign and then donate more to a PAC? Which one? Do I spread it around? And what's the max this year? Beyond the fact that we need some sort of "donors guide," I want advice from other folks on what they've done and felt they made wise choices.
So here's my plea for advice, beyond the Satanic orange dollar sign:
I'm probably talking about 10K total. That's really my tolerance for a donation this year given my vacation plans this this year. Not a big hitter; more than some, less than others. But I've been moving all my money out of Chase accounts onto other firms (a story for another diary), but I figure it'll do more in a campaign coffer being spent by smart people.
But who's smart?
Does it make sense to give to the Obama campaign, and then to a PAC? Can I even do that? Should I give it all to a PAC? If so, which one?
Does it make sense to do this as a matching donation? How would I even set that up and verify it? I almost spent the 40K to have dinner with Obama. Now that's something I'd splurge on if only he'd accept my Linkedin request :-)
And while I've given in the past to other races (Franken, Kucinich, etc.), I'd prefer to focus my money on the national race.
Your thoughts?