Follow the … um, money? yeah, money.

Your Humble Blogger isn’t a big fan of the Law of Unintended Consequences; most well-written legislation has minor unintended consequences, and some of those positive. Still, ill-written legislation (much less ill-advised legislation) does have consequences, and it was entirely predictable and predicted that McCain-Feingold would lead to the very rich giving more money, with less scrutiny, to be used less efficiently. Now, the scale of the incompetence and iniquity of Our Only President and his cabal of cronies was not as easily predicted, and it’s certainly possible that the big bread is being leavened by that particular yeast, but then Our Last President was vilified much the same as this one, and I imagine Our Next President (D-Mass) will be vilified much the same, so don’t expect powerful and wealthy people to stop caring about the future of the country, and trying to influence it.

Anyway, David S. Bernstein prefaces the Democratic National Convention by detailing twelve big donors who gave a total of $50 million to left-leaning and Democrat-supporting organizations. These range from Peter B. Lewis, responsible for those obnoxious ‘high expectations’ ads for his Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and a giver of fourteen million dollars in this election cycle alone all the way down to Anne Getty Earhart, of those Gettys, who gave a stinking million to the Joint Victory Campaign.

Just to point out, I could live off a million dollars for, um, let’s see, assuming a conservative five percent annual return and a cost of living increase of three percent, um, 25 years? Something like that? That’s how much Anne G. Earhart gave this year to the Joint Victory Campaign. Which, by the way, has raised some forty million, almost thirty million from nine people, over twenty-three million just from Mr. Lewis, George Soros, Stephen Bing, and Linda Pritzker.

Now, if those four had given twenty million to Sen. Kerry’s campaign, it would be, well, a lot of money, but a smaller percentage of his overall money. After all, the dem-leaning 527s have raised $200 million, plus John Kerry’s $150 million, plus the Party’s $115 million, plus $56 million from the DNC, so that’s—what—more than five hundred million dollars, that’s what. While it’s true that four people giving five percent of that gives them tremendous influence, it doesn’t give them as much influence on the whole race as it does if they give three-fifths of the money to a big 527. Plus, of course, the 527 didn’t have to win a primary; no voters (other than the actual donors and volunteers, of course) have indicated any agreement with any aspect of the Joint Victory Campaign, nor is the Joint Victory Campaign beholden to anyone (other than the actual donors and volunteers, again) for its crazy mind-control scam. It doesn’t need to be re-elected, nor is it seeking another, higher office later. It doesn’t even need a good reputation; it can dissolve itself after this election and start again with a new name and another twenty million, if the four principal donors agree. And as for the dire potential of influence peddling, much less the quid pro quo that would really be dishonest, well, I’m sure John Kerry knew the figures before the Boston Phoenix reported on them.

All of which sounds as if I’m terribly upset about it. Not really. I think that most of the money that campaigns spend has always been pretty much wasted, and that the important thing is to keep an eye on the ballots. As long as the ballots are counted properly, all the money in the world can’t win an election. I didn’t support McCain-Feingold, because I wasn’t very worried about the money in politics, and I don’t vilify it now, because I’m still not very worried about it. I do think that it’s important to keep an eye on where the money is coming from. At the moment it’s an Open Secret, and it’s a good idea to make it just a trifle more open every day.

Oh, and, as a disclosure, if not entirely full: I’ve known David S. Bernstein socially for many years, and I think he’s been doing a great job at the Phoenix. I particularly enjoy his (previously unsuspected) ability to explain and expose dishonest use of statistics, in articles such as this and especially this. I’d certainly be pleased, on a personal level, to see his stuff more widely read, and to see him become rich and famous. On the other hand, I’m not attempting to make him so by publicizing him in my blog. On the other other hand, I wouldn’t read his stuff if I didn’t know him; the Phoenix isn’t on my list of must-reads, or rather, is only on that list because I know their political writer. Anyway, for what it’s worth, you are warned, Gentle Reader, there is more to the link than happenstance.

                           ,
-Vardibidian.