Follow the money, and you'll find the truth.
In financial terms, the Republican Party and its candidates are now more in line with their ties to corporate America and the rich. They have turned increasingly to large contributors — donors who make gigantic donations to “super PACs” and “social welfare” organizations that claim tax exempt status under the 501(c)4 provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. So far, 501(c)4 committees have successfully avoided publicly identifying their donors. No matter how used to all this we’ve all become, the numbers are striking. The amount of money flowing into federal campaigns — for Congress and the presidency — has been growing rapidly, doubling from $3.1 billion in 2000 to $6.3 billion in 2012. While overall spending increased by more than 100 percent from 2000 to 2012, spending by secretive political nonprofits, which do not disclose donors, has exploded 13-fold, from $24.9 million in 2000 to $335.7 million in 2012. Four out of every five dollars, or $269.5 million, raised by tax-exempt groups, most of which claim to be “social welfare organizations,” go to pro-Republican and conservative groups. These political nonprofits have become a key source of indirect support for Republican candidates. As Figure 2 shows, spending by conservative nonprofits has grown from $2.5 million in 2000 to $269.5 million in 2012. Liberal nonprofit spending has gone from $21.9 million in 2000 to $58.5 million in 2012.Some disturbing trends are already emerging about the inability to regulate coordination between lobbyists, ultra-wealthy donors and campaigns. The influence of this money is more worrisome by the fact that the FEC can't seem to keep up with campaign finance disclosures anymore. A lot of this stuff comes down to common sense. If you vote for the party who is now helping billionaires to buy elections, you're contributing to the problem. Why is there even a "debate" on whether or not the Koch's SuperPAC is corrosive to our democracy?
