Posted on 01/02/2016 10:41:55 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
News articles concerning the most influential political donors in America typically list the same names: The Koch brothers, George Soros, Sheldon Adelson and, lately, Tom Steyer.
But as we reach the end of 2015, none of these billionaires has spent big in the 2016 contest, at least not at an individual candidate level. In their absence, a number of lesser known donors are shaping up to be major players in 2016.
Here are five to watch:
1. The DeVos Family
We're cheating by including a whole family in our list, but there is no way of separating out this high-spending political unit, which made its fortune from billionaire patriarch Richard DeVos Sr., co-founder of the direct selling company Amway.
In a year when politicians realized the unbeatable value of hard dollars there is no more valuable a family in political America to have on your side than the DeVoses. And yet while they are well known in their home state of Michigan, the DeVoses, who also own the Orlando Magic NBA franchise, receive strikingly little national media attention....
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I know from personal experience, discussions with others and the obsessions of the media that people are NOT being swayed by ads. No one has to even see one. I have ad-blockers, I screen my calls, I discard ALL junk mail, unopened/unread,have no commercial TV at all and if it wasn’t for spam and the radio, I would never hear a word about political candidates from their wealthy supporters.
My government has betrayed me. I have taken note of individual names. However futile, I will not vote for my enemies, no matter how many uber-wealthy supporters they have. In fact, the more support from the super-rich, the less support from me.
FWIW, I have received not a single piece of spam, not a single robocall, not a single mailing from or for Trump, yet I know exactly what he’s done/said/promised.
If the election ends up being rigged, I expect CWII.
Devos family is strong. My good friend was running for MI Senate seat last cycle and he was up 3 points with a week to go. After a HUGE push, the DeVos team chewed us up and won by 15. Money does have a say in politics....especially at local levels.
Is YEB! getting a brain donor?
Yes, no question. Those of us who are on this site are by definition people who are interested in knowing the political facts. Much of the voting public are not that interested or informed. They represent an effective target for political ads, robocalls etc., and IMHO are also more likely to vote on the basis of name recognition.
Biggest spenders? NBC,ABC,CBS,FOX,NYT,WAPO, etc. They are all giving free advertising and reprinted press releases of the favored and choosing whom to ignore.
That is Trumps Ace card. His name branding means nothing but the best. The media has built others up and down.....Trump has spent years defining his name as
“the best you can get”
2. Farris WilksCruz and some 300 FaithIf Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wins the Republican presidential nomination he will owe a major debt of gratitude to the billionaire pastor Farris Wilks and his family, which made their fortune from fracking.
Until 2015, Wilks, who leads the Assembly of Yahweh, 7th Day, in Cisco, Texas...
Wilks, who leads the Assembly of Yahweh, 7th Day, in Cisco, Texas7th Day as in?
Seventh Day Adventist Official StatementsThe Dangers of Climate Change
..."The world membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church requests that the governments concerned take steps necessary to avert the danger": ...
..."The ecological crisis is rooted in humankind's greed and refusal to practice good and faithful stewardship within the divine boundaries of creation. "...
Ban on Sales of Assault Weapons to Civilians
..." In addition, with public safety and the value of human life in mind, the sale of automatic or semi-automatic assault weapons should be strictly controlled. "...
Aw well I would have read the article and posted a quick list of the 5, but they block ad-blockers, so no luck
It’s not a Seventh Day Adventist Church. It’s a blending of Christian and Jewish.
http://www.halleluyah.org/about/
Around here it's difficult to *not* hear of the DeVos family, if memory serves they sponsored and bankrolled the candidacy of Justin Amash, and one of the DeVos family ran for governor, or at least pretended to. But the Partisan Media Shills ONLY talk about Chuck 'n' Dave Koch, and never breathe a word about the criminal Soros. Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.
2. Farris Wilks
3. Mel Heifetz
4. John Jordan
5. Bill Koch
Well thanks (:
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