Citizens United is a disaster for this country and it has fuck all to do with wine caves and disclosed donors. I am going to be really pissy about this because I hate defending Pete Buttigieg, but
Sanders and Warren are dangerously conflating legal disclosed hard money with the undisclosed, unregulated expenditures by 501c4 organizations. Citizens United has nothing to do with people making disclosed donations to PACs or candidates.
Biden, Sanders, and Warren all entered the race with distinct advantages over the other candidates, larger national profiles and a database of donors. Warren and Sanders also had money in the bank from previous campaigns.
They both transferred millions into their campaigns that were raised from large donors and donor events. Their purity pledge didn't require them to not use the money they raised, so they were able to use this "Impure" money to build their fundraising for this campaign
Contrast with Kamala Harris who donated her senate campaign funds to other Democratic candidates. Of course, without the major donors to build the campaign chest, she ended up having to suspend her campaign. Maybe that was the point, since they will go to major donors for general
So it's a purity test for the primary only - doesn't it seem likely it served more to hamstring primary opponents without their deep resources from taking off in the primary?
Right now, the maximum a person can give to candidates is $2700 for the primary and $2700 for the general. Frankly, it should be higher. Maybe up to $10,000. We are not being sold down the river for 5400. It is the influence of the unregulated c4s with their phony issue ads
You know the ones, they finance cable news. Puppies are being slaughtered and Senator X is a puppy-killing fiend. Call Sen X and them to stop killing puppies. That is Citizens United, not a boring fundraiser in a wine cave.
If they were more serious about real campaign finance reform, they might have talked about 527s and the unlimited donations to parties, conventions, and party campaign committees. That is soft money. Instead, they attack hard money, the least corrupt money that isn't public
Take the terrorist organization NRA:
They spent 19 times as much on independent expenditures. They gave a hefty 75K to the party. The most they gave to a candidate was Chuck Grassley - $4950
They spent 19 times as much on independent expenditures. They gave a hefty 75K to the party. The most they gave to a candidate was Chuck Grassley - $4950
Sorry, missed one. They gave $4950 to Grassley twice. but that is dwarfed by what really is the big influence the ads they run for and against candidates - the independent expenditures
This is far more pernicious than somebody giving $5400. As to the wife, kids, and the dog giving. That is illegal, as Dinesh D'Souza
