The GOP Debate is What Oligarchy Looks Like
In the run-up to the first Republican presidential debate, a flurry
of news stories about the candidates offered glimpses of oligarchy in
action. Consider:
- Jeb Bush’s largest Super PAC has already raised $103 million,
most of it collected before he even officially declared that he was
running for president. (That may explain the exclamation point in his
“Jeb!” logo.) - At least 20 individuals wrote checks to Bush’s Super PAC for $1
million or more, and an estimated 236 checks were received for $100,000
or more. - Roughly a third of the more than $380 million already raised for the
2016 election comes from less than 60 donations, according to the Associated Press. - For the first time in more than a century, most of the funding for a presidential election is being donated in amounts of six figures or more from corporations and wealthy individuals.
- It took Ted Cruz three months to raise $10 million, according to the
same AP account. He then more than doubled the size of his coffers by
collecting $11 million with a single check from a hedge funder. - Donald Trump says he’s financing his own campaign – despite the fact that Trump-led corporations have filed for bankruptcy four times.
Republican
presidential candidates (L-R) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Donald Trump
and Jeb Bush participate in the first prime-time presidential debate
hosted by FOX News and Facebook at the Quicken Loans Arena August 6,
2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
presidential candidates (L-R) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Donald Trump
and Jeb Bush participate in the first prime-time presidential debate
hosted by FOX News and Facebook at the Quicken Loans Arena August 6,
2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
