Demos has released the most detailed report I’ve seen so far on our common post-Citizens United disaster, and it’s interesting that the tax-deductible charity organizations might end up being more of a hidey-hole for campaign cash than SuperPACs:
Nonprofit “social welfare” organizations exempt from taxes under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and trade or membership associations organized under Section 501(c)(6) are permitted to spend money to influence federal, state, and local elections, but are not required to disclose the identities of their donors or the amounts of their contributions.[6]
These “dark money” groups actually outspent Super PACs in the 2010 cycle by a substantial margin,[7] and they are poised to have a significant effect on this year’s elections as well. […]
Then there’s this:
Sheldon and Miriam Adelson have given a combined $36.3 million to Super PACs in the 2012 cycle. It would take more than 321,000 average American families donating an equivalent share of their wealth to match the Adelsons’ giving.
NotMax
The Political Mojo blog at Mother Jones has been doing a round-up of dark money info each Friday for quite some time.
Today’s entry.
the Conster
And yet all that money bought them Mitt Romney, the worst candidate I’ve seen in my lifetime.
General Stuck
Well, the jobs report was 163 large, but the UE number ticked up to 8.3. So the wingnuts are recalibrating the mighty wurlitzer to fap on the .1 increase in percent uI. In other news, the tides came and went, sun rose in the east . Updates Updates, can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em
HRA
@the Conster:
I could not have said it any better.
Money does not buy everything was a famous saying my Dad said quite often.
NotMax
@General Stuck
Yup. The weekend vidiot blatherers will be all aghast that the obstructionist Obama has done everything he can to block Boehner and the House from moving their jobs legislation.
Can someone get me a slingshot please? Bevy of flying pigs just came by.
jwb
@General Stuck: The Tweetmachine tells me that the actual unemployment rate is almost unchanged if you actually look to the third decimal point. Not that makes any difference to the wurlitzer.
Rafer Janders
And where does most of Adelson’s money come from? Casinos in Macao. Adelson is basically a laundering conduit for Chinese money influencing America’s presidential election.
shortstop
@the Conster: The problem is downticket races, where better, or at least more publicly palatable, candidates are running. And we can’t count on the GOP producing spectacularly bad and awkward presidential candidates each cycle. CU would be plenty to get some of them over the top.
Morbo
Freedom of speech is money, my friends. Some people just have more speech than others.
gbear
But the Adelsons only get two votes. The average families get at least 642,000 votes, if we assume two-parent households with no voting age children. If we can make Adelson’s message look stupid to the borderline voters, his money doesn’t pay off.
It’s a big task but we do have an advantage in that Adelson’s message is really stupid.
ericblair
@the Conster:
Dark money isn’t necessarily smart money. The whole structure of super-PACs means that they’ll be dominated by the super-rich, who will push forward their worldview, which consists of “lower my taxes and deal with this one pet issue, and I’m sure that this will eventually benefit you proles somehow.”
They seem to be losing the link with their evangelical minions who are the traditional ground troops, because the billionaires don’t particularly give a shit about them. Rove certainly does understand the need for ground troops, but it’s not clear whether he can’t get through to the Crossroads GPS donors about this or he doesn’t give a crap about winning and just wants to grift.
raven
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations.
NotMax
Trying to make Florida into Theocristan.
And (nudge, nudge; wink, wink) we all know which religious sects they intend to shower lucre on.
Monkeyfister
Funny how the Adelsons have $36 Million to throw away on politics, but not a single dime to create JOBS.
I can’t wait to see them dangling from the lampposts.
Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937
Bazillionaires are people too, my friend, 321 thousand people to be exact.
Dork
@the Conster: The worst candidate in your lifetime that will still generate at least ~47% of the American votes.
WaterGirl
I keep hoping that all this crazy
spendingelection buying is going to end up helping the economy.yopd1
You have to wonder, with Birther’s now running ads across the nation, if the GOP will eventually realize that this is not good for them because it makes all Conservatives look like nut jobs.
Nah, that would involve introspection and logic.
chopper
all i know is, with this shit thank fucking god the GOP is running mittens. not that everyone else on the stage this year was a real performer, but in the age of CU and the sheer amount of cash these fuckers can pump into the system (as pointed out, effectively overseas money as well) it’s our saving grace that they’re running such a chump for the office.
of course, if these guys really realized this they’d just up and throw all that loot at senate races. then we’d be well and truly fucked.
Someguy
So an international casino magnate / multi-billionaire has established political action committees in the U.S. to hide a couple tens of millions of dollars from the tax man… okay, that’s plausible.
Afferent Input
Thus the Adleson’s $36 million is no more a burden to them than the average American family plunking down ~$100. Those people are obscenely wealthy.
Anyone know the best way to sharpen a pitchfork?
LanceThruster
@the Conster:
Hope they saved the receipt!