HuffPo – Haley Barbour on a mission to boot Obama
Last month, about two dozen deep-pocketed Republicans gathered in New York City to hear a money pitch from then Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
A prodigious GOP fund-raiser, Barbour was already in high gear on his next political mission — raising tens of millions of dollars for two powerful groups to help the GOP take control of the White House and Congress.
Billionaire financier Ken Langone, a founder of Home Depot who co-hosted the event, said “the response was very good.” He declined to offer details.
Well before leaving the governor’s mansion last week, Barbour, the former super lobbyist and Republican Party leader, started traveling around the country, hitting up donors for six- and seven-figure checks for American Crossroads, and its affiliate, Crossroads GPS.
Those groups, created by GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, are aiming to raise $300 million this election — up from the $71 million they raised in 2010. And now they have arguably the most successful fundraiser in recent decades helping them out.
In a series of private meetings that have not been disclosed before, last fall Barbour began pitching groups of super-rich donors.
Huffington Post
1/23/12
Magnolia Tribune
