Recently, I talked with a good friend who is a registered Democrat who is leaning toward conservative ideas. I mentioned to him the financial sector gives the lion’s share of their donations to Democrats despite their claims they are for the working person. It’s just more evidence of the politicians’ need to pull the wool over their voters’ eyes. Who would believe such a thing were true?
Is it possible to take money from the uber-wealthy while supposedly advocating for the needs of the middle class or poor?
What is going on?
Is the rhetoric from the Left demonizing the most wealthy a lot of hot air?
Is there an understanding between some of America’s most wealthy and the candidates they support that they will never marry what is said with what they do legislatively?
Are Democratic candidates and lawmakers talking out both sides when they claim they want to use the government to redistribute wealth from the rich to fulfill social justice causes?
For decades, Republicans enjoyed unrivaled donations from businesses of all sizes and many industries. Democrats touted themselves as the party of the working person. Yet, over the last decade, a tidal wave has shifted, and the world is now upside down. Democrats say they are the party fighting big banks and corporate interests. At the same time, they are compromised due to the influx of political donations and support from those within industries the Left regularly tries to target its attacks.
In years past, big businesses gave political donations not so much based on ideology but on who would control Congress and the White House. They sought to buy influence to help their organizations. Today, the opposite is occurring as a new generation of leaders assumes the mantle of their companies.
To the surprise of some, Democrats are now the overwhelmingly top beneficiaries of Wall Street.
Over the last week, I dug into the financial campaign reports from the Federal Elections Commission. I found that industries and CEOs that give the most to Republicans include the energy and manufacturing industries in the Midwest and South. Democrats tend to benefit largely from the most wealthy in financial, technology, and healthcare industries in the Northeast and West.
In 2010, wealthy hedge fund managers donated almost 100% to Democrats. In 2016, the largest among them donated nearly $52 million, of which 98% or more went to Democrats. During the 2018 midterm elections, hedge fund managers gave $8.7 million to congressional Democratic candidates compared to $2.9 million to Republicans.
In the 2019-2020 campaign cycle, the financial-services industry gave $1.96 billion to House, Senate, and presidential candidates. Nearly 600 financial companies and trade associations contributed at least $500,000.
Which Congressional Democrat candidates in 2020 led the pack?
- Sen. Jon Ossof (D-GA) – $6.5 million
- Sen. Mark Kelley (D-AZ) – $6.3 million
- Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) – $5.3 million
- Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) – $4.9 million
In the 2020 presidential election — finance, insurance, and real estate companies gave $252.6 million to President Joe Biden’s campaign and $103.3 million to Trump’s re-election bid.
In addition, members of the Harvard Corporation gave 306 donations totaling $1.16 million to Democrats and only three donations totaling $6,600 to Republicans. The organization is the university’s top governing body and is comprised of the nation’s leading finance executives, academicians, and corporate lawyers.
On August 15, the Federal Elections Commission showed that 7 out of 10 Senators who received millions in donations from private equity and investment groups were Democrats.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) – $1.228 million
- Sen. Michael Bennet – ($418, 327)
- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) – $369,251
- Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) – $358,502
- Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) – $348,362
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) – $312,825
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – $303,057
- Sen. Catherine Cortez (R-NV) – $292,406
- Sen Todd Young (R-IN) – 273,390
- Sen Raphael Warnock (D-GA) – $273,089
So, ask yourself, does the proof that financial companies and hedge fund managers bankrolling Democratic candidates demonstrate hypocrisy at the deepest levels?
Do Democrats really believe their rhetoric demonizing the wealthy, or is there an understanding that the rhetoric and policies will never match up?
Don Purdum. MPS, Political Analyst
Copyright 2022, ConservativeEra.com
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