Secretive Soros-backed group looking to spend nearly $40M in 2014

By Lachlan Markay
Published May 20, 2014 Washington Free Beacon

George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC during an economic speech in Frankfurt April 9, 2013.REUTERS

A secretive dark money group backed by George Soros and other liberal mega-donors is looking to steer nearly $40 million to left-wing groups in 2014 to support high-profile political and policy efforts, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The documents reveal for the first time the Democracy Alliance's full portfolio of supported organizations, a large network of powerful liberal groups looking to win key electoral and legislative victories.

The Democracy Alliance connects major Democratic donors with some of the largest and most influential liberal activist groups in the country. Previous beneficiaries, such as the Center for American Progress and Media Matters for America, are set to get millions more in 2014.

The list also reveals DA support for newer organizations, such as Organizing for Action, the advocacy group that succeeded President Barack Obama's reelection campaign. That group has received official sanction from the White House, and operates websites and social media accounts branded with the president's name.

In all, the document reveals, the Democracy Alliance hopes to provide $39.3 million to 20 organizations this year. If it meets those fundraising targets, it will likely be responsible for one out of every five dollars in those groups' 2014 budgets.

Alliance-supported organizations will spend more than $175 million in 2014, according to budget projections contained in the document.

The Democracy Alliance is highly secretive in all of its operations. The donors it solicits and the organization to which it directs their financial support are prohibited from speaking publicly about its operations.

Security was tight at its recent conference in Chicago where reporters from the Free Beacon and Politico were rebuffed by attendees who would not answer questions about their involvement with the group.

The Free Beacon obtained and recently published a list of new Alliance "partners" -- individuals and organizations that must pay $30,000 in dues and contribute at least $200,000 to DA-aligned groups each year -- providing previously unreported details on its financial backing.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...y-40m-in-2014/