Obama's Back for More L.A. Fundraisers, Draws Ire From GOP Supporters

President Barack Obama will begin a to conduct three fundraisers on behalf of his re-election campaign, capitalizing in part on his .

Obama will arrive at Los Angeles International Airport this afternoon from San Francisco, where he is scheduled to conduct two fundraisers. Obama will address the LGBT Leadership Council Gala at the . Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres will speak and Darren Criss, who plays Blaine Anderson on the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee, will perform.

Tickets begin at $1,250 per person and approximately 600 people are expected, according to a campaign official speaking on background.

Obama will then head to the nearby home of Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy, who is openly gay, for a $25,000 per person dinner with 70 people, the official said.

The dinner at Murphy's home will be Obama's 150th fundraiser for his re-election campaign, the Democratic Party or both, since taking office, which prompted a caustic comment from the Republican National Committee.

"...Instead of taking action to create jobs, the president has decided to focus on holding a record 150 fundraisers to save his own," Matt Connelly, a regional press secretary for the Republican National Committee, told City News Service.

By comparison, George W. Bush attended 86 fundraisers for his re-election campaign, party, or both during his first term, Bill Clinton 70 and George H.W. Bush 24 during their first terms, according to ABC.

Obama will conclude the trip Thursday with a fundraising breakfast at the home of developer Charles Quarles and his wife JoAnn in View Park, one of the wealthiest predominately black areas in the nation, which has been nicknamed the black Beverly Hills. Tickets start at $2,500 and 300 people are expected.

Proceeds from the events will go to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee of Obama for America, the formal name of his re-election campaign, the Democratic National Committee and several state Democratic parties.

The trip will be Obama's 11th to the Los Angeles area since taking office, the eighth solely for political fundraising. He has spoken at political fundraisers during all but his first visit to Southern California as president.

The trip comes five days after the release of Labor Department unemployment data showing the nation's employers added the fewest jobs in May in a year—82,000—and the unemployment rate rose from 8.1 percent in April to 8.2 percent in May, mainly because more people were seeking work.

"There is much more work that remains to be done to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and deep recession that began at the end of 2007," said Alan B. Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. "Just like last year at this time, our economy is facing serious headwinds, including the crisis in Europe and a spike in gas prices that hit American families' finances over the past few months. It is critical that we continue the president's economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession."

But Allie Brandenburger, a regional press secretary for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said that "the most recent unemployment report was another reminder that Obama's presidency hasn't lived up to the promises of his 2008 campaign.''

"California families are being hurt by Obama's economic policies, which have proven to be hostile to job creators and have made it harder to grow a business," she said.

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