Crossroads and Hedges

Previous posts noted the migration of hedge-fund money away from Democrats. Paul Blumenthal adds more detail at The Huffington Post:

The Karl Rove-affiliated Super PAC American Crossroads raised $2.7 million between July 1 and August 24, according to a new report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Notably, Kenneth Griffin, the founder and CEO of the massive hedge fund Citadel, donated $300,000 to the group. In 2008, Griffin backed Barack Obama's bid for the presidency, raising between $50,000 and $100,000 as a donation 'bundler' and contributing the maximum $4,600 to the then-Illinois senator's presidential bid.

Recently, Griffin bemoaned the lack of attention paid to hedge fund managers by the White House and claimed that President Obama had expanded government spending too much. Griffin was quoted in May saying, "The frustration with Obama is that the administration is taking the spending levels of the Bush era and multiplying them by some multiple. We are greatly concerned about the fiscal stability of this country."

The vast majority of American Crossroads' recent contributions came from Texas home builder Bob Perry (no relation to Texas Gov. Rick Perry). Perry donated $2 million in August, bringing his annual total of donations to American Crossroads to $2.5 million and his total contributions since the group was founded in 2010 to $9.5 million. Perry is the biggest donor to political campaigns in the nation. In the past, he has donated millions of dollars to Republican outside groups including the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 and the Economic Freedom Fund in 2006.