As Democrats continue to lick their wounds ahead of Republicans taking control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives next month, the blame game is still well underway. In a discussion with Mark Halperin and Meghan McCain a Democratic donor said that some people in her party are livid with former President Barack Obama over his role in what just transpired. She also marvels at the vast amounts of money that were transferred from contributors to various people who benefitted immensely from the failed, extraordinarily expensive Harris campaign. Where did all the money go? Some of it sent into people's pockets, minting some new millionaires, according to Lindy Li.
And others are not happy about it at all, by the sounds of it:
“People are pissed at Obama,” says Lindy Li, a major Democratic fundraiser. “There are people who are now multi-millionaires as a result of the Harris campaign, and we know exactly who they are. Half a billion dollars went to just four well-connected Democratic firms. This whole… pic.twitter.com/d9OFnOBDu6
— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) December 15, 2024
We've written previously about the vast sum of money that was dumped into Kamala's depleted and unsuccessful war chest. The sheer scope of the campaign spending is breathtaking, as is the rate at which so much money was lit on fire in a losing effort. Roughly a billion-and-a-half dollars, out the door, in approximately 15 weeks. One budget line item that got some attention was the six-figure fake set the campaign had constructed in a hotel room for Harris' appearance on a sex podcast called 'Call Her Daddy.' The host of that podcast recently said there's no way that amount of money could have been legitimately spent on that temporary project:
The host of Call Her Daddy said she can’t understand how the Kamala Harris campaign spent $100k remaking her set for their interview… she said her real set doesn’t cost that much.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) December 6, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Kcrbbxuc2d
That was one podcast on which Harris actually did appear, having turned down Joe Rogan (her staff apparently refused to travel to Rogan's studio, which is standard protocol for every guest on that show, and requested constraints like a time limit). With other podcasters, the campaign reportedly experienced a series of no thank you's:
It wasn't too long ago that all sports broadcasters wanted to do was jump full on into politics. Another sign of the vibe shift. https://t.co/iWOMRPW7ui
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 16, 2024
The post-campaign tell-all books next year are going to be delicious. I'll leave you with another internal skirmish playing out within high-level Democratic politics:
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NEWS: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is actively working to tank AOC’s bid for the top Dem spot on the House Oversight Comittee, I’m told.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) December 12, 2024
Pelosi has been making calls & campaigning on behalf of Gerry Connolly, who’s running against AOC. More in @PunchbowlNews midday: pic.twitter.com/zYwS628uas
New: Sources close to AOC says she intends to move ahead with this contest in the full Democratic Caucus despite Steering Cmte vote. AOC feels good about her chances of winning, per sources https://t.co/3AYlqYIAOC
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) December 16, 2024