What do billionaires really want?
by digby
Scary factoid of the day:
Super PAC mega-donors continued to dominate the independent spending playing field in May as their percentage of total giving to super PACs increased.
There are now ninety-five donors or collections of related donors that have given more than $500,000 to super PACs, according to a review of reports filed on June 20 with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Those donors had given $153.6 million through the end of May...
Wealthy donors giving $500,000-plus provide the vast majority of contributions to super PACs. Through May, their contributions accounted for 71 percent of all super PAC contributions. That's up from 61 percent through the end of January.
This doesn't count the money they gave to the 501-cs like Rove's American Crossroads that don't require naming their donors.
It's obscene but I had to laugh when I read this:
This high percentage of contributions coming from six- and seven-figure donations has led to concerns about the profound effects this new normal of campaign fundraising could have on who the government listens to in the future.
"Candidates in the future are going to know what actions and which votes are going to bring out these tens of millions of supportive spending and which votes are going to trigger millions of dollars of opposition spending," says the Brennan Center's Skaggs. "It's the effect on governance that should give us real cause for concern."
Uhm, yeah. Maybe someone should look into why all these people are spending this vast amount of money. It would be nice to know what the real agenda is going to be after November.
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