“For a brief moment in American history, the rich didn’t control politics,” the New York Times reports.
“Back in 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Congress passed new campaign finance restrictions that would have largely eliminated the ability of wealthy people to buy elections. In addition to donor disclosure rules and contribution limits, the new legislation capped so-called ‘independent expenditures’ on behalf of political candidates at $1,000 a year. There were even curbs on what rich people could spend to get themselves elected…”
“Flash forward to the 2024 presidential campaign. Six of the nation’s wealthiest billionaires spent more than $100 million apiece to help get another billionaire, Donald J. Trump, elected president. Independent expenditures by wealthy outsiders for the first time in history exceeded what the candidates’ own campaign committees spent.”
