in today's day and age.

corruption of our democracy.

Doesn't that entire notion completely 100% kill off Bernie's entire messaging??

you know that whole "the systems rigged, nobody can get ahead, we need socialism now because nobody can get ahead... but the exception is becoming millionaires.. that shit's easy as fuck.

Biden is very electable; Warren and Bernie, a little less so - but still very viable.

Pete, however, for all his virtues, is probably not electable - for reasons we all understand, even though they're wrong and I wish they weren't a factor.

They're backing him not because they see things his way - or even because they see him as a Democrat "they could live with."

They're backing him because they know his being nominated is the best chance they have of keeping their fat orange whore in the White House.

How is that so different than what Bernie allegedly said to Warren about a woman not being able to win? Given Pete's take in Iowa, I'm not willing to assume he simply can't win "for reasons we all understand, even though they're wrong."

That was just so left-handed.

I want someone who will beat trump. More money = more ability to beat trump. I don't care about purity. It's a losing strategy.

We keep getting caught up in stupid false dichotomies. It's possible for a politician to have wealthy donors and care about regular people.

Exactly right

Pete is not

please.

Utterly ridiculous.

At his age, he should have a few assets. He is in no way, shape, or form as rich as people like Biden or Claire McCaskill who is up there at around $27 million.

no way

...across the spectrum.

Bernie has a non profit, Our Revolution, which can do the same thing.

It’s just word play, they all need big bank to run in a national election.

BS also has a very divisive staff he refuses to control.

With what his staff is doing... he just turns a blind eye to their attacks on other candidates.

Sanders is just taking a reality he has created - rich people don’t like him - and positioned it as a virtue - I don’t get $ from rich people.

is simple

only donate the same legal max amount that everyone else can or is he only hoping that his supporters don't know that and fall for his simplistic arguments?

Concerning donations, it's not as relevant whether they are billionaires, millionaires or one of those "1.5 million hard-working Americans" that includes people that are donating just as much.

Billionaires play by an entirely different set of rules when it comes to assisting and supporting candidates.

Then Bernie should disavow the dark money groups that support him and hide where the money is coming from. Either way, his attacks remain disingenuous.
And where do we draw the line when it comes from support of individuals?

BURN BURN BURN MANIACAL LAUGH

Quite the visual response!



If we want purity, it needs to be re choice, equal rights for all, separation of church and state.

I don't have anything against rich people. I may even have some as friends. Or not. They don't invite me to help balance their checkbook.

I would choose Pete a billion times over Bernie.

Contributions rules do not apply to billionaires and candidates know that.

But frankly, I don't care where the candidates get their contributions as long as they're legal and properly reported. I care about beating Trump and that's going to require a lot of money. So if the billionaires want to donate to PACs that support Democrats, good for them.

Or $5,600 when it was a couple, each giving. That’s like you or me giving $5 (probably less).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2019/12/21/here-are-the-billionaires-backing-pete-buttigiegs-presidential-campaign/#2667876a5fc6

How many $2,800 donations does Bernie have? A lot more, I’d guess. Whether billionaires or not. I don’t see the difference

with.

so if we have some on our side, what's wrong with that?

before they do anything for us.

Buttigieg has one.


Bernie is being disingenuous.

What laws have passed or not passed where you can point to a Senator's vote having nothing to do with anything other than pleasing a billionaire donor. What about donors whose businesses have nothing to do with any bills?

Plus if there is a $2800 limit, then what difference does it make how much the giver has? There are less-than-billionaires that could make that kind of donation and how does the Senator pay them all off?

We could accuse Bernie of it, too. I see it as Vermonters liking their guns, but you would have to say he is paying off donations from the NRA. It's just a matter of how cynical you are.

Forgiving student loan debt is an interesting promise - it is just to pay off student voters? I could choose to see it that way.

just for starters:

This comes from the Center for American Progress.

snip
Before the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, U.S. corporations had to finance campaign-related activity chiefly via disclosed donations from their employee-funded PACs. Corporations were not allowed to spend money directly from their corporate treasuries on independent expenditures—advertisements that expressly call for the election or defeat of a candidate. These ads are the lifeblood of election campaigns. But in Citizens United, the Supreme Court held that corporations are indeed permitted to spend corporate treasury funds on campaign-related ads, opening the door to unlimited corporate spending in U.S. elections.

Since the high court’s decision, corporations have taken full advantage of their new power. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it through secret “dark money” channels, to elect their preferred candidates, often bankrolling negative advertising and distorting issues about which everyday Americans care.
snip

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2019/11/21/477466/ending-foreign-influenced-corporate-spending-u-s-elections/

I'll have way more for you when I get a little time later. I should not have to explain this to you, however. Anyway who is barely awake knows this.

How did they get paid off?

They overturned a law that Congress passed.

And how does that prove any specific paying off of the corporate donors with legislation in their favor?

Dark money in small amounts that do not have to be reported can be funneled out of anywhere.. just saying..

And we gut citizens united - we need all the financial help we can get.

Top Contributors, federal election data for Pete Buttigieg, 2020 cycle

This page shows contributions grouped by contributor to the candidate's campaign committee plus any super PACs or hybrid PACs working on his or her behalf

This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2020 cycle. The money came from the organizations' PACs; their individual members, employees or owners; and those individuals' immediate families. At the federal level, the organizations themselves did not donate, as they are prohibited by law from doing so. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Contributor Total
Alphabet Inc $248,709
Microsoft Corp $145,714
University of California $130,398
Paul, Weiss et al $127,819
Walt Disney Co $102,554
AT&T Inc $100,188
Sullivan & Cromwell $98,728
Amazon.com $98,288
Kaiser Permanente $98,226
Apple Inc $88,652
Wells Fargo $88,107
McKinsey & Co $87,625
Harvard University $86,573
Comcast Corp $86,464
University of Notre Dame $73,700
US Government $71,607
Deloitte LLP $62,133
Facebook Inc $60,412
JPMorgan Chase & Co $57,401
Bank of America $57,059
Why (and How) We Use Donors' Employer/Occupation Information

NOTE: Federal-level numbers are for the 2020 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data released electronically on 02/03/20.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: info@crp.org

are cheap bastards to boot. About 2 mins of profits.

He even shares donors from some of the same places.

If billionaires support Democratic policies, I welcome them.

Thus kind of bullshit is divisive and disgusting, IMO.

Thanks for the thread Donkees.

which is dark money?

How in the world could Bernie win with such a deficit of billionaires?

Billionaires can only donate a maximum of $2,800. Just because they may cut one check for $2,800 instead of donating $10, 280 times, like some of Sanders contributors come close to doing, it doesn't make their money any more or less "good" than anyone else.

Now, on the flip side, Sanders has dark money orgs that back him and we don't know where their money (which includes several six-figure donations, apparently) comes from.

Please, actual Democrats, come together and don't let this slanderous man and his merry band of Jill Stein supporters become our nominee.

... only 40? I demand a recount!

support Pete over Sanders.

Where politics involves my animals choice of food 🥘

Really, I dont

There is nobody on that debate stage that I would not vote for in the general election...Pete included.

Neither is electable nationally IMHO so I'm not sure this means anything.

they can only donate the same max as any of Bernie's supporters.

Next losing attack.........

but now only the billionaires.

and it was possible but very difficult to fund a campaign that way. Most candidates who tried failed.

Now, we're not in the old grassroots days anymore. Giant internet operations mean accumulating record-setting mountains of donations pouring in under the radar with no way of knowing where donations under $50.01 are coming from, or and how many are coming from one disguised source.

This is NOT getting money out of politics, it's not getting money in politics transparent and honest, and it's not protecting elections from possible undue influence. It is increasing the amounts of money candidates must have to compete.

If 40 US billionaires gave to Pete, who did the other 567 US billionaires give to?

I guess $50 million Susan Sarandon or $12 million Cardi B are small change to Bernie.

...makes me so proud, he's such a breath of fresh air...

...if I weren't already a Bernie supporter, I'd have to rush out and become one...

...Bernie can do it...

It's such a silly distinction he's making as if when you become a billionaire you suddenly become toxic but it's ok if you have $999 million I guess.
Meanwhile he created "Our Revolution" to basically act as his SuperPAC, taking in big money from donors who will be anonymous until after the election.

I have never been so stoked for a candidate!! Proud to be busting my ass to get this man elected.

I think Steyer's SC spend spree is a tactical move by him to split support to help Bernie win. We actually don't know how many billionaires donate to Bernie since his dark money groups wont release names.