The wealthiest donors on the left are concerned that Hillary Clinton is "in the pocket of big Wall Street banks" and won't be making large contributions to her campaign, according to Politico's Ken Vogel.
Vogel obtained a memo prepared by David Brock, who runs multiple Clinton-aligned groups dependent on the wealthy left-wing donor class, ahead of a fundraising pitch he made at a Democracy Alliance meeting earlier this year.
The first question Brock was prepared to answer from the network of rich liberal donors, according to the document, was regarding Clinton's ties to Wall Street.
"You say the Kochs represent all that is bad in this broken system, yet our presumptive nominee is in the pocket of big Wall Street banks," begins the question. "Aren’t we going to have a hard time going after the Kochs’ big money when some could argue that Sec. Clinton is bank rolled by Wall Street and therefore there is a pox on both our houses?"
The memo's prescribed answer to questions about Clinton's Wall Street ties does not dispute the ties, and acknowledges that Clinton is not the type of candidate that the donor group—many of whom have contributed to efforts to draft Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.)—is looking for.
"It is no secret that Sec. Clinton is fair-left and not far-left. I think it is safe to say that there will be a dramatic difference between Sec. Clinton and whoever is the Republican opponent. She has spent a lifetime advocating for women and children and fighting for the middle class and there is not one GOP candidate who has that record," was the memo's response.
Members of Democracy Alliance say that while they will likely end up voting for Clinton, they will not be writing her the large checks that the campaign seeks and are open to supporting other candidates, according to Vogel.
Another donor who attended, Utah-based investor Art Lipson, told POLITICO that [Clinton campaign chairman John] Podesta didn’t overtly seek support for Clinton’s campaign. "First of all, that would have gone over badly. And he is much too smart to say it and doesn’t need to say it," said Lipson, who has donated about $2.5 million over the years to Democratic candidates and committees.
Lipson said he recently donated to a super PAC trying to draft Warren into the Democratic presidential primary. In an assessment that could apply to many Democracy Alliance members, he said "her message is exactly my message, so I am 100 percent behind her. But there is no chance she is going to run." Lipson plans to attend a fundraiser this month in Salt Lake City for Martin O’Malley’s Democratic presidential campaign and said the former Maryland governor "comes across as being highly intelligent."
Lipson said he’s "fine with Hillary," given "that it would take some sort of a national disaster to have some other Democratic candidate" win the nomination. But he said that, while he’ll vote for her over prospective Republican rivals, he does not plan to donate to her campaign, let alone any supportive super PAC.
Vogel added on Wednesday that the Clinton campaign fears that there is a "lingering unease" with the liberal base about her candidacy.