Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Super PAC Backer Says Big Money Entitles Donors to Campaign "Oversight"
Super PAC Backer Says Big Money Entitles Donors to Campaign "Oversight":snip:
(The Intercept_) In a USA Today op-ed headlined “Big Donors Can Save Democracy From Donald Trump,” Hoffman tries to make the case that Trump has gone off the rails because he doesn’t have people like Hoffman telling him what to do.
Here’s how Hoffman puts it: “Large donors … often serve as an executive board of sorts, challenging campaigns to act worthy of their investment.”
Hoffman writes, “Trump brags that he is without big donors. That may be true. But it also means he is without restraint. … In business and politics alike, oversight is a good thing.”
If you’re not paying close attention, that makes the whole process sound public-spirited and inspiring. If you are, however, you realize Hoffman is telling us that he and his cohort see their money as buying them seats on the board of a corporation they ultimately control.
Here’s how Hoffman puts it: “Large donors … often serve as an executive board of sorts, challenging campaigns to act worthy of their investment.”
Hoffman writes, “Trump brags that he is without big donors. That may be true. But it also means he is without restraint. … In business and politics alike, oversight is a good thing.”
If you’re not paying close attention, that makes the whole process sound public-spirited and inspiring. If you are, however, you realize Hoffman is telling us that he and his cohort see their money as buying them seats on the board of a corporation they ultimately control.
Hoffman acknowledges a possible downside of the system: “Raising seven figures for a candidate grants you access that the average voter will never see. This unfairness has been a source of major voter ire this cycle. Injustice makes people angry. And it is angry voters who have been pulling levers for Trump.”
But he dismisses it in favor of an even loftier goal. Big donors aren’t just backing a candidate, he says; they’re also investing in their ideology.
:snip:
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/07/super-pac-backer-reveals-that-big-money-entitles-donors-to-campaign-oversight/
But he dismisses it in favor of an even loftier goal. Big donors aren’t just backing a candidate, he says; they’re also investing in their ideology.
“Even his critics would agree that Jeb released the most detailed set of policies and reforms in the race,” writes Hoffman. “Seeing these ideas thrive and live beyond the candidate makes for a worthy investment. In my heart, that is a proper and just use of big money in politics.”
In other words, Jeb Bush can lose — as can any of the other sweaty, hopeful throng of politicians backed by Hoffman — and Hoffman and his friends will still feel like winners. Victory is enough Americans feeling it’s common sense that we face an “insatiable Russia,” or that regulations on Wall Street “choke economic activity,” or that slashing tax rates for the 1 percent will “unleash” the economy.
In other words, Jeb Bush can lose — as can any of the other sweaty, hopeful throng of politicians backed by Hoffman — and Hoffman and his friends will still feel like winners. Victory is enough Americans feeling it’s common sense that we face an “insatiable Russia,” or that regulations on Wall Street “choke economic activity,” or that slashing tax rates for the 1 percent will “unleash” the economy.
:snip:
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/07/super-pac-backer-reveals-that-big-money-entitles-donors-to-campaign-oversight/
