Tag: Money

A political reform advocacy group says it has grave concerns about the amount of big money in Illinois elections. Alisa Kaplan, policy director for Reform For Illinois, said Illinois’ gubernatorial candidates have raised $284.5 million. [Bruce] Rauner and J.B. Pritzker,” Kaplan said. Rauner has raised more than $79.4 million, also largely self-financed. It’s not just the candidates who are putting up big money, Kaplan said, it’s also mega donors shelling out tens of millions to political action committees and candidates. “People will start to feel disaffected and withdraw from the process because they’ll feel that if they're not wealthy, if they’re not particularly well connected politically, they just won’t have a voice in the process so why bother getting involved,” Kaplan said. “We worry about this system where it’s very top down and much of both of the Democratic and Republican parties might feel they might have to march in lockstep with the main funders,” Kaplan said. Kaplan said one number to analyze after the election is how much each candidate spent for each vote. In the March primary, Pritzker took the top Democratic spot with $119 per vote. Rauner’s primary win cost $102 per vote.

In books like Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics and Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems, he has traced the way “investors” in political parties have shaped US politics from the American Revolution to the present. While not dismissing the role of racism in Trump’s election, Ferguson and his colleague’s new work shows the way an economy for the 1 percent paved the way for Trump’s victory. You and your colleagues trace the “populist” upsurges of 2016 in both major parties to the runaway growth of a “dual economy” in America and the failure of our money-driven political system to do anything about this but talk. But the big studies of individual voters do not show this pattern. We also concur that the political discussion and reception of the Affordable Care Act was heavily racialized — that really stands out when you study the survey data. But we also find compelling evidence of the importance of economic issues. That likely reflects some economic considerations, though economics alone hardly exhausts its content. When we analyze voting by congressional districts, especially changes in the presidential vote from 2012 to 2016, the importance of economic issues also stands out. We find that economic considerations played a major role in the decisions of “switchers” — people who voted for Obama in 2012 but then voted for Trump; 2012 non-voters who came in from the cold to vote for the real-estate mogul; and last, 2012 Obama voters who didn’t vote in 2016. And the survey evidence confirms this.

In books like Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics and Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems, he has traced the way “investors” in political parties have shaped US politics from the American Revolution to the present. While not dismissing the role of racism in Trump’s election, Ferguson and his colleague’s new work shows the way an economy for the 1 percent paved the way for Trump’s victory. You and your colleagues trace the “populist” upsurges of 2016 in both major parties to the runaway growth of a “dual economy” in America and the failure of our money-driven political system to do anything about this but talk. But the big studies of individual voters do not show this pattern. We also concur that the political discussion and reception of the Affordable Care Act was heavily racialized — that really stands out when you study the survey data. But we also find compelling evidence of the importance of economic issues. That likely reflects some economic considerations, though economics alone hardly exhausts its content. When we analyze voting by congressional districts, especially changes in the presidential vote from 2012 to 2016, the importance of economic issues also stands out. We find that economic considerations played a major role in the decisions of “switchers” — people who voted for Obama in 2012 but then voted for Trump; 2012 non-voters who came in from the cold to vote for the real-estate mogul; and last, 2012 Obama voters who didn’t vote in 2016. And the survey evidence confirms this.

Big money has arrived in northern Michigan political races, according to filing reports and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN), which tracks money raised and spent in political races. MCFN Executive Director Craig Mauger says the race for the State House in the 104th District (Grand Traverse County) is one that’s attracting significant outside money. “Lansing-based groups see it as an important race.” MCFN has tracked $68,040 spent in the race as of Oct. 12 by and for the two candidates, incumbent Republican Larry Inman and his challenger, Democrat Dan O’Neil. Thus far Inman’s campaign has raised $76,693 and O’Neil’s $137,917. Both of Vanderwall’s primary opponents also outraised Taillard: Ray Frantz raised $68,009, while Bruce Rendon raised $106,498. In the 37th District, which includes Grand Traverse County, the tip of the mitt and the eastern third of the UP, Republican Wayne Schmidt, the incumbent, has raised $396,518. In the race for the State House in the 101st District, Republican Jack O’Malley has raised $64,897. She’s put in $11,670, while the Leelanau County Democratic Party has contributed $10,000, the Manistee County Democrats $4,000, and the Benzie County Democrats $2,603. Of course, the money for these races is dwarfed by the amount spent by candidates at the state level. Other large donors were the combined spending of the DeVos Family, Amway, Windquest Group and Altico, which donated about $7.1 million to Republican candidates.

Is this really a problem? Not really, instead it is a sign of how robust Democratic fundraising has been this cycle. The totals have led one top Republican to describe the threat in November as a “green wave”, not a “blue wave”, due to the sheer quantity of cash. The money can be put to uses in the future and could give candidates a head start in coming campaigns. Georgia: voter suppression claims ramp up in governor’s race as lawsuits are filed Read more Republicans use Democratic talking points In a number of races, Republicans have been echoing Democratic messaging, particularly about ensuring people with pre-existing conditions can still get health insurance. However, several Republican Senate candidates touting their support for measures like this are currently suing the federal government to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Another Roy Moore-style race in Alabama The race for chief justice of the Alabama supreme court has opened up a rare statewide opportunity for Alabama Democrats, and yet again it is connected to Roy Moore. Buehler is a good candidate who has run a strong campaign while emphasizing his moderate views on social issues. He’s a Democrat? Yes, Donnelly is a first-term senator running for re-election in a state that Trump won by 19%.

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President Trump says he has “no financial interests in Saudi Arabia.” For Fact’s Sake, Bloomberg Opinion Editor and Columnist Bobby Ghosh join Ali Velshi to discuss how the president is tied to the Kingdom and how the Saudis are invested…

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