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News Item:

New York Times, Jan. 26, 2015

Koch Brothers Budget of $889 Million for 2016 Is on Par With Both Parties’ Spending

By Nicholas Confessore

“The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history.”

“The spending goal, revealed Monday at the Kochs’ annual winter donor retreat near Palm Springs, Calif., would allow their political organization to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties. These donors represent the largest single concentration of political money outside the party establishment… ”

So there you have it, kids. We are nearing the culmination of the trend that permits money to be freely employed in electoral politics, a trend that traces itself through Supreme Court decisions from Buckley v. Valeo (1976) to Citizens United (2010)  and McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014). Elections are marketing campaigns, and the ability (meaning having enough cash) to provide effective advertising for a candidate is essential if she/he is to prevail. What has changed is that the shackles are off outside groups such as Super PAC’s and 527's who raise and spend money on campaigns outside the control of the traditional party apparatus.

Take the 2012 Presidential campaign. Barack Obama’s personal campaign committee raised an astounding $1.24 billion, beating out Mitt Romney’s $923 million. Counting outside groups, however, including the two parties’ National Committees, over $1.51 billion was spent on the Romney campaign, more than the $1.43 billion spend on the President’s re-election effort.

Now the outside interests are intending to flood the zone in 2016. Last fall’s midterms cost nearly four billion dollars, with perhaps 25% of that total coming from outside groups. With the ability to make unlimited anonymous donations, the bazaar is in full swing, and the rich are shopping. The ultra-wealthy, the Sheldon Adelsons and Koch Brothers, invite potential candidates to posh meet-and-greets as if they were auditioning actors for a play.

I think we have reached the point where the concept of political parties is an anachronism. We should just start identifying candidates by the donors backing them: The candidate from Koch or Steyer. This way, at least, no matter what a candidate promised during the campaign, we would know exactly what she or he represented.

That, my friends, would be a true picture of the American experiment in the 21^st Century.