To my mind, a PAC and a charity are functionally the same thing. Both beg for money, whether for a political ideology or spiritual, social and the like.
Both profess the things each is striving for and prepared to do (if you contribute). Much of that given is siphoned off for salaries, overhead, consulting and a host of other things not specifically contributory to the end goal.
Well, I agree with you that they are functionally the same. If we give money to the Red Cross we expect they’ll help people in disasters, if we give money to the R party or the D party we expect they’ll try and elect Rs and Ds.
But one does think that those running a charity are do-gooders while we know those who run PACs are just power hungry whores.
That’s what I see as the difference, but of course they are pretty much all power hungry whores.
Story of my life: I should have been a power hungry whore, but instead I became a chump.