Concerned that there wouldn't be enough money for a Democratic presidential candidate to wage a successful campaign, a small group of wealthy liberals and Democratic strategists met last summer at philanthropist George Soros' home in the Hamptons to strategize.
Out of that meeting, America Coming Together and other 527 groups were born. These groups fall under IRS regulations, so the money collected is not subject to soft-money restrictions.
In March, the Bush campaign and the RNC filed a complaint with the FEC, alleging that what the 527s are doing is illegal. But donors who were named in that complaint are undeterred.
"In my particular case, it motivated me to give more," said pharmaceutical company founder Agnes Varis, who donated $995,000 to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004, the fundraising arm of America Coming Together, before the complaint was filed.
"What can I tell you? I come from Brooklyn," said Varis, 74. "I can't think of any better act of patriotism than giving to ... get the message out to the American people about what is really going on in this country. We have to take it back in 2004. I have a stake in that at my age."
