Thanks for taking a stab at explaining what is so convoluted. If Democrats ever get control of the House, Senate and presidency they have to try to pass two constitutional amendments. (1) Money is not speech. (2) Corporations are not people. They must be constitutional amendments otherwise the corrupt Supreme Court would just declare any equivalent legislation unconstitutional. With these two ridiculous decisions that money is speech and corporations are people, the Supreme Court has wrecked our political system.
Michael, I'm continuously amazed at your BREADTH of knowledge on so many topics. You mentioned that you put in some hard slogging to arrive at the understanding to put together this post. Thank you, thank you, thank you......... Glad you're doing it so we don't have to.
Just a thought. I don't know how to set this up, but it might pay in the long run for you to run a sale on subscriptions until you reach the magic 1,000. Matt Iglesias is currently offering subscriptions half off. Just something to think about.
Not so fine for those of us who subscribed immediately without any SPECIAL! HALF PRICE OFF LIMITED TIME ONLY! offers. I’m sorry about the voracious demands of The Sacred Algorithm, but paying attention to that sort of commercialism isn’t very impressive and you, Michael, are a lot more impressive than that.
We always hate to find out we bought something only to see it go on sale the next day. But I subscribe based on the value I find in the analysis and information and if the knowledge can be spread among more people who are less financially able then I am okay with that. I don't have cable TV but I still get my news and the analysis I need as a tradeoff.
Now the DNC has no choice but to be the party of the people, progressive populism. Bernie proved that he could fund a campaign without selling out to the donor class, and the donor class, via the DNC put their thumb on the scale for Hillary
The DNC has managed to render itself nearly irrelevant to the mid-term elections. Is there a better argument for rethinking how the DNC is structured and how it chooses its leadership?
We discuss the blatant influence peddling of private donations to political candidates as standard operating procedure. This is simply legalized bribery and graft, and is at the core of the generalized dissatisfaction with the U.S. government today. Our Canadian neighbor accomplishes elections in just 3 months at a fraction of the cost of U.S. elections.
"Today, political campaigns in the United States saturate the nation with ads, fueled by millions or — at the presidential level — billions of dollars. Candidates can gain a big advantage by courting major donors, especially in the early stages of a campaign. Some can use another strategy: Be rich and willing to spend a lot of your own money.
In Canadian federal elections, strict contribution limits restrain the role of wealthy donors, and candidates can only spend up to 5,000 Canadian dollars (about 3,600 U.S. dollars) of their personal wealth on their campaigns. Wealthy individuals and corporations do not have a legal way to funnel unlimited amounts of money to candidates and parties. Caps on spending also limit the volume of advertising.
Wealthy donors are seeded into the figures at various levels. They can contribute directly to candidates and party committees (within legal limits), but the biggest money usually flows into Super PACs, where contribution limits are essentially unlimited. Some also give through nonprofit organizations that help finance political spending, making the original source of the money more difficult to trace. In other words, wealthy donors aren’t a separate tier of the system—they’re one of the principal funding sources flowing through several of the tiers discussed in the article. The real distinction is less who gives the money than where it ends up and how flexibly it can be used.
Because of the amount and source of money that has enriched trump, and similarly, his millionaire and billionaire donors, it makes perfect sense that the gop would have more money. BUT, I have fond memories of the millions that musk dumped into the Wisconsin State supreme court’s election and his money was useless. Other such dumps without success have occurred…. That’s what I am holding onto… the soul of most Americans is not for sale.
It’s the gops and a select group of dems who have sold their souls, with their lies, headbobbing, and loyalties to themselves and Israel.
I’m holding onto the belief that integrity and honesty can surface and course correct this ship we call the United States ❤️
Very helpful, thank you! I’ve been thinking about this and I wonder how many donors are like me and are ignoring the endless begs from the Party’s superstructure and are instead giving directly to candidates of their choice?
I miss the days when 1 vote equaled 1 vote and those were sought by candidates in exchange of ideas in conversations. Instead of a greater number of dollars equals control of more votes. That just doesn’t compute for me. The DNC wasted itself in the way it handled the aftermath of 2024 and all the chicanery they have gone along with over the years just to keep themselves secure. Only way I would consider a dime to them is if they stood up and insisted on hand count audits of swing states in the 2024 election with aberrations in scientific methods of measuring voter behaviors, to at least give us confidence that our votes were counted and will be counted correctly. Otherwise, our money is going to thin air.
Very very helpful analysis and explanation, Michael! Despite the money imbalance, I remain hopeful that regular people are supporting the right candidates in many cases where it matters. Remember, as Rick Wilson's book reveals: "Everything Trump Touches Dies", and as long as he maintains control of everything Republican (practically), I remain hopeful this will prove true again in the mid-terms and beyond. Thank you.
I will only donate to individual candidates until the DNC gets their shit together.
I fully supported the DNC monetary until after the last election… I doubt I will until the DNC is overhauled.
Thanks for taking a stab at explaining what is so convoluted. If Democrats ever get control of the House, Senate and presidency they have to try to pass two constitutional amendments. (1) Money is not speech. (2) Corporations are not people. They must be constitutional amendments otherwise the corrupt Supreme Court would just declare any equivalent legislation unconstitutional. With these two ridiculous decisions that money is speech and corporations are people, the Supreme Court has wrecked our political system.
NO ONE wants to donate to a feckless DNC. Most funds directed to candidates.
Thank you for doing this work; very helpful in understanding the intricacies of fundraising.
Michael, I'm continuously amazed at your BREADTH of knowledge on so many topics. You mentioned that you put in some hard slogging to arrive at the understanding to put together this post. Thank you, thank you, thank you......... Glad you're doing it so we don't have to.
Just a thought. I don't know how to set this up, but it might pay in the long run for you to run a sale on subscriptions until you reach the magic 1,000. Matt Iglesias is currently offering subscriptions half off. Just something to think about.
https://www.slowboring.com/subscribe
Yes. I have to figure out how to do it but that would be fine with me.
Not so fine for those of us who subscribed immediately without any SPECIAL! HALF PRICE OFF LIMITED TIME ONLY! offers. I’m sorry about the voracious demands of The Sacred Algorithm, but paying attention to that sort of commercialism isn’t very impressive and you, Michael, are a lot more impressive than that.
We always hate to find out we bought something only to see it go on sale the next day. But I subscribe based on the value I find in the analysis and information and if the knowledge can be spread among more people who are less financially able then I am okay with that. I don't have cable TV but I still get my news and the analysis I need as a tradeoff.
Now the DNC has no choice but to be the party of the people, progressive populism. Bernie proved that he could fund a campaign without selling out to the donor class, and the donor class, via the DNC put their thumb on the scale for Hillary
Fine and very useful analysis, thank you.
The DNC has managed to render itself nearly irrelevant to the mid-term elections. Is there a better argument for rethinking how the DNC is structured and how it chooses its leadership?
We discuss the blatant influence peddling of private donations to political candidates as standard operating procedure. This is simply legalized bribery and graft, and is at the core of the generalized dissatisfaction with the U.S. government today. Our Canadian neighbor accomplishes elections in just 3 months at a fraction of the cost of U.S. elections.
"Today, political campaigns in the United States saturate the nation with ads, fueled by millions or — at the presidential level — billions of dollars. Candidates can gain a big advantage by courting major donors, especially in the early stages of a campaign. Some can use another strategy: Be rich and willing to spend a lot of your own money.
In Canadian federal elections, strict contribution limits restrain the role of wealthy donors, and candidates can only spend up to 5,000 Canadian dollars (about 3,600 U.S. dollars) of their personal wealth on their campaigns. Wealthy individuals and corporations do not have a legal way to funnel unlimited amounts of money to candidates and parties. Caps on spending also limit the volume of advertising.
With these limits on big private spending, public financing accounts for a substantial portion of money in Canadian elections." https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/campaign-finance-system-americans-could-have-had
Stop this madness and get big money out of politics.
I first read the headline as "The DNC is Broken..." and thought, "Yeah, we all knew that."
I’m curious: where do big donors fit into this picture?
Wealthy donors are seeded into the figures at various levels. They can contribute directly to candidates and party committees (within legal limits), but the biggest money usually flows into Super PACs, where contribution limits are essentially unlimited. Some also give through nonprofit organizations that help finance political spending, making the original source of the money more difficult to trace. In other words, wealthy donors aren’t a separate tier of the system—they’re one of the principal funding sources flowing through several of the tiers discussed in the article. The real distinction is less who gives the money than where it ends up and how flexibly it can be used.
Because of the amount and source of money that has enriched trump, and similarly, his millionaire and billionaire donors, it makes perfect sense that the gop would have more money. BUT, I have fond memories of the millions that musk dumped into the Wisconsin State supreme court’s election and his money was useless. Other such dumps without success have occurred…. That’s what I am holding onto… the soul of most Americans is not for sale.
It’s the gops and a select group of dems who have sold their souls, with their lies, headbobbing, and loyalties to themselves and Israel.
I’m holding onto the belief that integrity and honesty can surface and course correct this ship we call the United States ❤️
Very helpful, thank you! I’ve been thinking about this and I wonder how many donors are like me and are ignoring the endless begs from the Party’s superstructure and are instead giving directly to candidates of their choice?
I miss the days when 1 vote equaled 1 vote and those were sought by candidates in exchange of ideas in conversations. Instead of a greater number of dollars equals control of more votes. That just doesn’t compute for me. The DNC wasted itself in the way it handled the aftermath of 2024 and all the chicanery they have gone along with over the years just to keep themselves secure. Only way I would consider a dime to them is if they stood up and insisted on hand count audits of swing states in the 2024 election with aberrations in scientific methods of measuring voter behaviors, to at least give us confidence that our votes were counted and will be counted correctly. Otherwise, our money is going to thin air.
Welcome to the scrap heap of history, DNC!
Very very helpful analysis and explanation, Michael! Despite the money imbalance, I remain hopeful that regular people are supporting the right candidates in many cases where it matters. Remember, as Rick Wilson's book reveals: "Everything Trump Touches Dies", and as long as he maintains control of everything Republican (practically), I remain hopeful this will prove true again in the mid-terms and beyond. Thank you.
Thank you for the wider perspective. I think you should also include crypto, AIPAC, and AI superpacs specifically since they donate such large sums.
Thanks for explaining this.