Petrelis Files

Obama/DNC's GayTM:
Degeneres, Hormel, Geffen, Orman

This is a snapshot portrait of what Federal Election Commission records show for a few famous or financially well-endowed gay and lesbian people, at this stage of the 2012 election with nine-months to go before America heads to the polls. Let's look who's donated in recent years, how much and to whom.

Financial adviser Suze Orman has a lot of money to throw around, and donated $83,900 to the Democratic National Committee since 2008. Orman gave Hillary Clinton $11,000 for her senatorial run in 2000. Anyone know if she discloses her DNC giving when dispensing economic advice and analyzing Wall Street through mainstream media outlets?

She's followed by TV personality and product-promoter Ellen Degeneres who contributed $35,800 in last June to the Obama Victory Fund 2012. She also threw $2,000 down the toilet in 2000 and 2001 when she gave to the Human Rights Campaign.

Music and entertainment mogul David Geffen since 2010 has doled out numerous $2,400 checks to Democrats, and in 2011 he gave Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin $2,500. Geffen's also given DNC-affiliated PACs $60,800 over the past two years.

Another philanthropist, Jon Stryker who started and funds the Arcus Foundation with an inherited fortune from medical devices, in 2010 coughed up $27,500 to the DNC and likes writing plenty of checks in the low four-figures to Democrats including gay Rep. David Cicilline.

David Bohnett, a wealthy Los Angeles based philanthropist, as with his counterparts Geffen and Stryker, gives a robust number of Democratic candidates four-figure donations. In 2011, Bohnett tossed $35,800 into the Obama Victory Fund 2012 bank account and that was on top of a $30,400 in 2009 to the DNC.

Then there's meatpacking heir James Hormel of San Francisco. Same as the above gentlemen, he contributes in the low-thousands to assorted Democratic state committees and Congressional candidates. Hormel also gave $90,000 to various DNC-affiliated committees since 2009.

Actress and relatively newly-out lesbian/bisexual/very questioning Cynthia Nixon last July donated $2,500 to Obama's reelection campaign. No other significant entertainer's name in this unscientific survey turned up in my search. Count on more A-gays to send money to help the president retain the Oval Office before November.

But let's end with a detour out of Democratic gay territory.

On the other side of the political aisle, Republican strategist and rainmaker Ken Mehlman contributed $20,000 to GOP Sen. Marco Rubio since 2010. Mehlman in recent years has made dozens of additional donations ranging from $500 to $5,000 to GOP candidates and PACs, similar to the Democratic gay philanthropists, except he's given only $1,000 to the Republican National Committee where he once served as the head of the organization.

Deep Throat gave excellent advice. Follow the money.

UPDATE

Chris Geidner of Metro Weekly emailed tonight to alert me to his piece on the February 9 gay fundraiser in DC for the president's reelection. I now know it cost $35,800 per person to hear what Obama had to say. Good to see Geidner also following the gay money.