Despite being de-platformed repeatedly by the Tech Oligarchs, Donald Trump is still a force to be reckoned with if campaign donations mean anything. And they do.
The Washington Times reports that Trump had 122 million cash on hand at the end of 2021, while the RNC only has 56.3 million and the DNC 65 million.
His political committees raised $51 million over the last six months of 2021, and he ended the year with $122 million in the bank, most of that in his Save America Political Action Committee.
His operation said the money came from more than 1.6 million donations, and more than 98% of those were considered “small-dollar” contributions of less than $200, in what political operatives described as an unprecedented show of force for someone not currently in office./span>
Again, without any of the typical avenues of support. That has people on both sides of the establishment aisle wondering. How do we stop that? What regulations or measures can we impose to prevent upstart populists looking to break up our cartel?
A few decades back, they gathered together to pass the McCain Feingold incumbent protection act. Sold as campaign finance reform, it institutionalized political advantages for incumbents who typically have more resources or access to earned media.
That law was eventually ruled unconstitutional, which spawned another movement on the Left and Near Left. An air war to replace it with something similar under the umbrella of money isn’t speech-see also (Overturn Citizen’s United).
Related: The Word ‘Free’ in Free Speech, has Nothing To Do With Money.
That’s a lie within a lie. They know money is speech, and they want to control both.
[W]hy do any of these people … think that by giving the government the power to decide what constitutes a proper expense (for the purpose of exercising speech, and when and how it is acceptable to exercise it), that the same government will limit itself to the expenditures on speech they think need to be restricted?
The government won’t limit itself and we knew that before COVID, but detractors are following a similar path to the Warmists and the Covidiots. Call them deniers, claim they are spreading misinformation, and build enough momentum to shut them up.
Issue One, which advocates for overhauling election laws and new campaign finance rules, said Mr. Trump is monetizing “the Big Lie,” which is the name some news outlets and political opponents have given to the former president’s unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.
“For years, we’ve known that outrage can fuel fundraising. Sadly, it now appears that relentless attacks on the integrity of our democracy also cause donors to open their wallets,” said Nick Penniman, CEO of Issue One. “When Donald Trump benefits financially from eroding people’s faith in our free and fair elections, the American people lose.”
Problems?
The first amendment protects all speech which is why Democrats are allowed to raise money despite lying about almost everything. Their anti-poverty agenda institutionalizes poverty. Their common-sense gun laws result in more assaults and murders. Their Economic policy ruins the economy, and foreign policy weakens America. And women’s rights – well, men who say they are women have more rights.
All they do is lie, and they are allowed to do that, as are we to call them out.
That rule applies to all, whether you agree or not, as long as they don’t get their way. At that point, they will decide all lies and all truth and who can raise money and not just for campaigns.
And you won’t be able to object or, likely, donate to candidates who agree with you because there won’t be any.
So here’s hoping Mr. Trump continues to raise funds and directs them to candidates who will work against the cartel and in favor of free speech, even if it is speech we for which we may not much care.