Dark money' helped pave Joe Biden's path to the White House

[Tarkett]

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - US President Joe Biden benefited from a record-breaking amount of donations from anonymous donors to outside groups backing him, meaning the public will never have a full accounting of who helped him win the White House.

Biden's winning campaign was backed by US$145 million (S$192 million) in so-called dark money donations, a type of fundraising Democrats have decried for years. Those fundraising streams augmented Biden's US$1.5 billion haul, in itself a record for a challenger to an incumbent president.

That amount of dark money dwarfs the US$28.4 million spent on behalf of his rival, former President Donald Trump. And it tops the previous record of US$113 million in anonymous donations backing Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.

 

[Tarkett]

Democrats have said they want to ban dark money as uniquely corrupting, since it allows supporters to quietly back a candidate without scrutiny. Yet in their effort to defeat Trump in 2020, they embraced it.

For example, Priorities USA Action Fund, the super political action committee that Biden designated as his preferred vehicle for outside spending, used US$26 million in funds originally donated to its nonprofit arm, called Priorities USA, to back Biden. The donors of that money do not have to be disclosed.

Guy Cecil, the chairman of Priorities USA, was unapologetic. "We weren't going to unilaterally disarm against Trump and the right- wing forces that enabled him," he said in a statement. Campaign finance laws, in theory, are supposed to limit the influence big money has over politicians. But the system has gaping loopholes, which groups backing Biden and other candidates, have exploited.

 

[Tarkett]

"He benefited from it," said Larry Noble, a former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission. A Biden spokesman didn't respond to attempts to seek comment. His campaign called for banning some types of nonprofits from spending money to influence elections and requiring that any organisation spending more than US$10,000 to influence elections to register with the FEC and disclose its donors.

Deep pockets
Biden raised more than US$1 billion for his campaign, which can accept donations of up to US$2,800 per election from individuals. That included US$318.6 million from donors who gave less than US$200 each. The rest of the money Biden raised came from donors with pockets deep enough to give as much as US$825,000, with that money being divided among the Democratic National Committee and 47 state parties.

Dark money is not the biggest source of cash to campaigns. Wealthy donors can write eight-figure cheques to super-PACs, Noble pointed out. Joint fundraising committees that raise money for campaigns and parties can bring in chunks of US$830,500.

In September, Michael Bloomberg said he would spend US$100 million to help Biden in Florida, allowing Democrats to divert money to other must-win states. Biden lost Florida but flipped five states that Trump won in 2016.

 

[Tarkett]

Donors who want to avoid disclosure can give to political nonprofits, like Defending Democracy Together, which spent US$15.6 million backing Biden, and aren't required to disclose their contributors to the FEC. Donors can also give money to a nonprofit that in turn gives the money to a super-PAC, like Priorities USA did.

Candidates and their campaigns can't coordinate spending with such groups under federal law. And that lack of disclosure worries reform groups. Big donors - individuals or corporations - who contributed anonymously will have the same access to decision makers as those whose names were disclosed, but without public awareness of who they are or what influence they might wield.

"The whole point of dark money is to avoid public disclosure while getting private credit," said Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, which advocates for reducing the influence of money on politics. "It's only dark money to the public." Battleground Attack Ads Overall, Democrats in this election cycle benefited from US$326 million in dark money, according to the Centre for Responsive Politics. That was more than twice the US$148 million that supported Republican groups.

 

[Tarkett]

Ccp invested alot at the expense of its citizens.

 

[Tarkett]

 

[syed putra]

Thayt true i was hoping for andrew yang with his freedom dividend or bernie sanders. Two very colourful characters.

 

[hokkienboy]

TS, You are the MOTHERFUCKER who goes around zapping people unreasonably during the forum's zapping era. So, STFU because you have no credibility.

 

[Tarkett]

Ccp ibs are disrupting this forum

 

[Tarkett]

TS, You are the MOTHERFUCKER who goes around zapping people unreasonably during the forum's zapping era. So, STFU because you have no credibility.

You the sick bastard who goes around sending pms cursing ppl.
U should go fuck yourself using your mother fingers and lick your mother phua cheebye.

 

[hokkienboy]

You the sick bastard who goes around sending pms cursing ppl.
U should go fuck yourself using your mother fingers and lick your mother phua cheebye.

Use one Nick you Twit. Why need to camouflage your original Nick. Dumbfuck

 

[Tarkett]

Use one Nick you Twit. Why need to camouflage your original Nick. Dumbfuck

Stop sending pms to me and following me.
Fuck off

 

[tanwahtiu]

Tiktokers help Trump to lose.

 

[Tarkett]

Tiktokers help Trump to lose.

Tiktokers are covid spreaders

 

[knnccb]

lmao looney fucktard using clone to post now

 

[knnccb]

who wrote these articles?

answer: trumptard conspiracists

 

[knnccb]

look at it another way, ppl are simply desperate to get rid of a narcissistic mental case dicktator wannabe, who among a ton of shits he has done...fired his entire cabinet, pissed off even his own party, pissed off global allies, committed treason and terrorism..

 

[knnccb]

lmao, moi just love whacking loony trumptards, its so easy and fun

 

[knnccb]

Use one Nick you Twit. Why need to camouflage your original Nick. Dumbfuck

he is @tobelightlight the resident fucktard, same obvious style of writing, cut n spam conspiracy gabbage

 

[Tarkett]

who wrote these articles?

answer: trumptard conspiracists

It from straight times