WASHINGTON (AP) — The term of choice in political giving these days is straight out of the world of finance — donors have become “investors.” Now, liberal California venture capitalists have come up with the natural corollary — political “mutual funds.”

The new venture, being launched Monday, is the work of Andy and Deborah Rappaport’s New Progressive Coalition, a San Francisco-based organization they like to call the Charles Schwab of politics.

Through a rigorous vetting system, the coalition identified 37 Democratic-leaning organizations and distributed them among three funds. The idea is to guide potential contributors through the myriad liberal causes and groups that dot the political landscape.

That’s right, they see politics as an investment. Meaning, they actually want to control government. And if you think Democracy Alliance is sitting this effort out… think again.

The effort is part of an evolution in liberal giving, where donors big and small are looking to organizations with proven track records or long-term missions instead of funding new, fleeting groups that disappear at the end of an election cycle.

A coalition of top dollar Democratic donors — the Democracy Alliance — met in Washington this month to hear formal presentations from established political groups eager for a share of the tens of millions of dollars the alliance is expected to have at its disposal.

The alliance, whose membership is by invitation only, has helped finance such Democratic-leaning organizations as the New Democratic Network, Media Matters and the Center for American Progress. These are high-profile operations, some with big budgets, that seek to influence the political debate in Washington.

Similar efforts are under way in a handful of states, modeled after a Colorado coalition of wealthy donors who helped raise funds for state legislative races. Donors and strategists recently met in New Mexico to create interest in similar funding organizations to assist liberal and Democratic-leaning organizations at the state level.

Gag.

The Washington chattering class has this fidelity to certain norms for, you know, political discourse. But let’s be straight about it. In a democracy you have to be able to question the uniformed military. We appreciate their service. We honor their sacrifice. But, especially for the generals, there needs to be accountability for their actions…
[S]ome people probably won’t like the ad, but they probably hate the war in Iraq more…If it was just a soft step, no one would have heard about it.

You know, let’s be clear. The ad did not call General Petraeus a traitor. It said, “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” It had posed a question about whether or not the general in his testimony was going to betray the confidence of the American people.

Which makes it even more interesting that Democracy Alliance, the left wing money machine, is bringing Matzzie on as an advisor. And not just any advisor…

Tom Matzzie has been hired to run a new effort for 2008, which he has described in an e-mail as a $100 million-plus venture organized around “issues and character.” Matzzie is leaving his post as the Washington director of Moveon.org to take the job. He did not return an e-mail seeking comment on his new position.

The news of Matzzie’s hiring comes roughly two weeks after a group of the largest donors in the Democratic party gathered in Washington to discuss where they’ll put their money during the 2008 race. One of the attendees — Hollywood producer Steve Bing — is said to be one of the leading financial forces behind the organization Matzzie has been hired to head.

Sounds like the left is looking to move even more to the left, and they’re doing it with a powerful money machine running the back end.

We had better start paying attention and fast.

When Taco Bell heir Rob McKay and his fellow “investors” gathered in Washington this month to fund start-ups, they weren’t looking for the latest idea hatched in some tinkerer’s garage.

Instead, the investment partnership known as Democracy Alliance, a group that includes filmmaker Rob Reiner and billionaire George Soros, were looking to be angels to political start-ups. In the 2008 election, their millions could be part of the new thing in politics.

Some major political players are expected to shift their money away from traditional campaign entities in favor of an old standby: the nonprofit. By giving to nonprofits, donors are unfettered by contribution caps that apply when they give directly to candidates. They also can be assured of anonymity.

The law allows nonprofits to be “very aggressive politically, while shielding donors from disclosure,” former Federal Elections Commission Chairman Michael E. Toner said. “That is a very attractive combination.”

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