Billionaires Broke US Politics; It’s High Time for Americans to Fight Back

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Even though politicians curse a lot more these days, we don’t often use any of the infamous “four-letter” words in our columns. Sure, we recently referred to the tech bros who ruined our lives with social media and want to finish the job with artificial intelligence as “assholes,” but sometimes there is just no substitute for the truth.

The point is this: when we use a “bad” word, we mean it.

But before we get to that, let’s turn to Elon Musk, one of the aforementioned tech bros and all-around terrible person, who spent $158 million last month to buy a Senate seat for the GOP in a state where he is operating a vast network of companies, including dozens for his personal use.

That’s not all: He has doled out at least another $200 million this cycle to help Republicans protect their majorities in Congress. This, of course, would allow Musk to avoid scrutiny and accountability for, among other things, his role in dismantling parts of the US government at the start of Donald Trump’s second term or his involvement in the decision to restrict Ukraine’s use of Starshield this week.

And that brings us to this question: What the fuck are we doing?

It’s not a democracy when some billionaires with an agenda can pump unlimited funds into an election.

As we have pointed out before, it is wrong to call these funds “donations.” Instead, we are talking about bribes here, or at best, down payments on self-serving investments. 

That’s because the politicians bought by this money will end up returning it (and then some) in the form of tax breaks, subsidies, looking the other way when investigations are warranted, weakened regulations, and other goodies and favors.

That, in turn, makes for the Musks of the world even more money they can then invest in the next crop of candidates.

It’s a system that breeds corruption.

For comparison, consider James Talarico, the Democrat in the race. His campaign raised $64 million in the third quarter, which is the most money any Senate candidate has ever raised in that period. Overall, 1.3 million donors have given him $134 million this cycle — with 97 percent of them giving $100 or less.

Here is what this means: Since the Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom has essentially decreed that money is speech, Musk, with the stroke of a pen, has ensured that his voice is louder than that of all of those people combined.

$24 million louder, to be exact.

Over the past three years, he has given Republicans more than $600 million (that we know of), as well as in-kind contributions in the form of propaganda through his social media site.

Musk isn’t the only one, of course.

There are plenty of billionaires, most of them Republicans but also some Democrats, who are spending more money on this election than the vast majority of Americans will see in a lifetime (or ten).

Their names are Adelson, Singer, Andreessen, Horowitz, Soros, Bloomberg, and Winklevoss, and all of them want stuff, like more money for Israel, or a big say in how artificial intelligence or cryptocurrencies are regulated.

In keeping with the spirit of this column, we honestly don’t care what they want, because what’s on the agenda of a xenophobic South African immigrant, an egg-headed investor, or a former New York mayor should be no more important than the issues that Jerome from Baton Rouge, Katie from Cleveland, or Pablo from rural California cares about.

Speaking of special interests, we should also not forget the big spenders representing certain industries. It should come as no surprise that it’s usually the worst of the worst who are trying to buy a pliable Congress. In other words, a lot of AI, crypto, data center, gambling, and oil money is invested in candidates who are expected to be team players once they get to Washington.

And, if you are wondering which team, we can assure you that it ain’t yours.

It should be noted that Americans feel very strongly about this.

According to a Fox News poll out this week, government corruption is their top concern, which is remarkable in light of the high cost of living. A whopping 90 percent of people are either extremely or very concerned about it. (And please note, that’s a Fox poll!)

But what does that mean? One example of “government corruption” that Americans across party lines agree on is when officials prioritize the interests of billionaires and large corporations over that of the public, and there is certainly plenty of that going around.

So, if nearly all voters believe that this is a problem, how can it be solved?

Well, if elected officials actually cared more about what the people want and less about the needs of the fat cats who fund their campaigns, then the fix would be pretty simple: a robust constitutional amendment that largely takes money out of politics.

That would also sideline the Supreme Court, whose disastrous decisions — from Buckley v. Valeo and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to recent rulings allowing coordination between parties and candidates — have paved the way for oligarchs, corporations, and interest groups to pollute elections with their billions.

Granted, there are some groups we otherwise respect that oppose strict campaign finance limits — like the American Civil Liberties Union. But you know what? They’re dead wrong on this one.

By the way, as candidates like Talarico have shown, you can raise plenty of money from grassroots donors alone. All you have to do is generate some excitement and champion policies that benefit voters and not just the uber-rich.

Then there is the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the body that is supposed to police federal campaign finance laws but has intentionally been rendered impotent by Donald Trump and Republican commissioners who are actively trying to undermine its mission. It will need to be reformed as well and given some teeth that will hurt anybody it comes after.

Finally, while this is not strictly campaign finance related, somebody needs to look at every way Trump, his family, and various hangers-on have monetized their roles in government — and then make sure every one of their grifts becomes illegal.

We’re talking about crypto scams, “donations” for projects like the ballroom, peddling pardons, insider trading, accepting obscenely large gifts, merch sales, business deals, overcharging the Secret Service, selling access, hawking early notifications of presidential actions, and good-old-fashioned corruption.

That way, the president’s endless talent for enriching himself will at least have served one purpose.

Now, we understand that all of this is an uphill battle because the forces of dark money are powerful, and one Musk can easily outspend millions of Americans.

However, he still only gets one vote… just like you.

And, with Americans of all stripes getting sick and tired of government corruption and of the greedy billionaires making their lives harder and harder, we think there is a lane for populist candidates who run on a platform based on campaign finance reform — especially after two more years of this bullshit.