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adding comparison to Koch network, planned election spending
'''Democracy Alliance''' (DA) is a liberal organization that bundles contributions from wealthy donors to support liberal and progressive movement infrastructure. It was founded by former [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] [[U.S. Department of the Treasury|Treasury]] official [[Rob Stein]], [[Erica Payne]] and various donors in 2005 as a counter to the existing network of conservative advocacy groups and think tanks.<ref name="rich liberals">Thomas Edsall, "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/06/AR2005080600848.html Rich Liberals Vow to Fund Think Tanks]," ''Washington Post'', August 7, 2005. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref> The DA describes itself as providing "an innovative opportunity for individuals to leverage their progressive philanthropy by connecting their own efforts with those of other investors/donors, high-impact organizations, and visionary political strategists and leaders."<ref>Democracy Alliance, [http://www.democracyalliance.org/ Main page], organizational website, accessed September 24, 2014.</ref>
The DA has been criticized as "secretive"<ref name="bai">Matt Bai, "[http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-op-bai23sep23-story.html#page=1 Democrats, look West]," ''L.A. Times'', September 23, 2007. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref> and raised concerns from the left that it is following right-wing strategies too closely by not disclosing its donors and by exercising tight control over messaging. In 2006, Sheila Krumholz, then acting director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group concerned with the influence of money in politics, called the DA's secrecy "a huge problem." She noted that for years "all kinds of Democrats and liberals were complaining that corporations and individuals were carrying on these stealth campaigns to fund right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups. Just as it was then, it is a problem today."<refname="prwatch">Judith Siers-Poisson, "[http://www.prwatch.org/node/5034 Funding the Left]," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, July 28, 2006. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref>
==Background==
Early members included "billionaires like [[George Soros]] and his son [[Jonathan Soros]], former [[Rockefeller Family Fund]] president [[Anne Bartley]], San Francisco Bay Area donors [[Susie Tompkins Buell]] and [[Mark Buell]], Hollywood director [[Rob Reiner]], Taco Bell heir [[Rob McKay]] ... as well as New York financiers like [[Steven Gluckstern]]," according to ''Salon''.<ref name="salon">Michael Scherer, "[http://www.salon.com/2005/08/22/alliance/ Can Democrats Get Smart?]," ''Salon'', August 22, 2005. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref>
By 2014, the DA and the groups it funds had developed into what ''Politico'' described as "a sort of DA-funded extra-party political machine that includes sophisticated voter databases and plans to mobilize pivotal Democratic voting blocs, air ads boosting Democratic candidates, while also — perhaps ironically — working to reduce the influence of money in politics."<ref name="liberal conspiracy"/>
==Similarities to and Differences from Koch Network==
The DA has been criticized from the left for its resemblance to the right-wing political networks it opposes, particularly on issues related to donor disclosure.<ref name="prwatch"/> It has also been accused of "hypocrisy" by right-wing politicians with ties to the [[Koch network]].<ref>Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger, "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/koch-industries-adopts-new-public-posture-to-neutralize-opponents-recast-image/2014/09/07/a85e8484-3502-11e4-a723-fa3895a25d02_story.html Koch Industries adopts new public posture to neutralize opponents, recast image]," ''Washington Post, September 7, 2014. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref>
After obtaining internal DA documents prepared for the group's April 2014 donor meeting, ''Politico'' commented that "the documents reveal the extent to which the Democracy Alliance network mirrors the Kochs’ — and is obsessed with it."<ref name="liberal conspiracy">Kenneth P. Vogel, "[http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/inside-the-vast-liberal-conspiracy-108171.html Inside the vast liberal conspiracy]," ''Politico'', June 23, 2014. Accessed September 24, 2014.</ref>
''Politico'' reported that in many ways the DA "mirrors" the [[Koch brothers]] network, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to politically active organizations such as [[Americans for Prosperity]] that operate largely outside of campaign finance disclosure rules. Like the Kochs, the DA also has a policy of closing its meetings to press and declining to make public its contributors.<ref name="liberal conspiracy"/>
However, ''Politico'' also noted that the DA operates at a lower scale than the Koch network, spending about $500 million between 2005 and 2014, compared to the Kochs' $400 million just in 2014. In addition,
:"Koch network donors are expected to provide almost every penny of the Koch operation’s $290 million 2014 spending goal. By contrast, DA donors — or “partners,” in the club’s parlance — are projected to provide a maximum of $39 million toward the $200 million 2014 spending goal of the 21 core DA groups, according to the briefing booklet. That means most of the cash raised by DA-linked groups actually comes from donors, institutions or revenue streams outside the DA’s cloistered ranks. Another difference: While DA partners are required to donate at least $200,000 a year to recommended groups, they ultimately decide to which group their money goes. The Koch network, on the other hand, collects contributions in the nonprofit political hub Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, which then distributes the cash mostly as it sees fit to groups in the network."<ref name="liberal conspiracy"/>
==Elections==
===Democracy Alliance Plans to Spend $374M on 2014 Midterm Elections===
According to a document prepared for the DA's April 2014 donor meeting and obtained by ''Politico'', 21 "core" groups in the DA planned to spend $374 million, including around $200 million in 2014, on the midterm elections.<ref name="liberal conspiracy"/>
==Personnel==
