Posted on 01/08/2016 5:35:01 PM PST by BlackFemaleArmyColonel
Political action committees (Super PACs) have become a popular way for candidates to dodge those annoying regulations set up by the FEC when it comes to individual donations. As long as Super PACs don't "coordinate" *wink wink nudge nudge* with the campaigns they support, they can do just about anything they want.
Taking a look at the 5 candidates who have a realistic shot of being president, and their PAC money, should help us gain a little insight into who their biggest financial supporters are. This can also tell us what kind of a presidency to expect from them.
1. Cruz: $28,430,902 - Ted Cruz holds down 2nd place on the Republican side, but has raised nearly $40 million in PAC funds. The vast majority of this money - $26,000,000 - comes from the Wilks Brothers (ranching), Caprock Partners (real estate), and Renaissance Technologies (finance).
2. Clinton: $20,291,679 - Clinton has picked up over $20 million in PAC funds, the vast majority of which come from Super PACs. Her Super PAC contributors hail mainly from the finance sector, as well as a somewhat shady organization we do not know much about.
3. Rubio: $17,315,782 - Currently in 3rd place in the Republican race, Marco Rubio has a sizeable amount of Super PAC money behind him, but the figure is a bit misleading, since about $8.5 million of that total has already been spent. His main contributors include a very large Miami-based car dealership, and Oracle, with both of those combining for about $8 million out of the total $17+ million raised.
4. Sanders: $25,044 - Behind Clinton in national polling, Bernie Sanders only pulls in a little over $25k in PAC contributions. What he did pull in does not register on OpenSecrets.org
5. Trump: $0 - No Super PAC funds.
(Excerpt) Read more at overtimepolitics.com ...
Super PAC funds = owns candidate.
So only hundred millionaires (Romney) and billionaires (Trump) should run for president?
Super PAC funds = owns candidate.
Every candidate since the beginning have solicited campaign donations. Are you saying that George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Ron Reagan were bought and paid for?
That’s the only logical answer I can see. That sure limits us, doesn’t it? Well, at least Soros can’t run, he wouldn’t need PACs or donations. He could buy it all himself, well, he tries to anyhow.
Super PAC funds = owns candidate.
So you’re saying every political candidate since at least 1776, including all our presidents, were corrupt? Interesting.
Super PAC funds = owns candidate.
First presidential election wasn’t till 1789, when Washington was implored to accept the office. He was elected unanimously. SuperPACs are a quite new phenomenon.
And, yes, large political contributions give, at the very least, ‘access’ to the donor, and always have. It’s not rocket science. Whether giving or accepting multi-million dollar political contributions is, ipso facto, “corruption” is a fairly debatable question.
New ties emerge between Trump operation and super PAC
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-ties-emerge-between-trump-operation-and-super-pac/2015/10/20/80e7450a-7753-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html
New ties emerge between Trump operation and super PAC
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-ties-emerge-between-trump-operation-and-super-pac/2015/10/20/80e7450a-7753-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html
There were several presidents under the Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation prior to General Washington’s run under the current Constitution, right?
JB is a nutcase.
Are you saying that George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Ron Reagan were bought and paid for?What do you think Ted Cruz's "Washington Cartel" refers to, cocktails and dinner parties?
They're all beholden to their big money donors (Cruz included) from Mayors to Presidents...You can't be that naive.
So the answer is to skip the middle man and elect the fatcats (Kerry, Bush, Romney, McCain or Trump) directly to the White House?
What’s your screen name at Daily Kos?
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