The Sweet Smell of Secret Campaign Cash

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

This is how path dependence happens:

Democratic opposition is growing to a draft proposal under consideration by President Obama to force prospective government contractors to reveal political contributions.

….The draft executive order would require companies bidding for federal contracts to disclose contributions made by directors and officers to federal candidates and parties. It would also require the disclosure of corporate donations to third-party advocacy groups that support or oppose federal candidates with campaign ads.

….“The requirement that businesses disclose political expenditures as part of the offer process creates the appearance that this type of information could become a factor in the award of federal contracts,” [two Democratic] senators wrote.

Up until a few years ago, everyone was in favor of requiring disclosure of political contributions. Then Republicans figured out a shiny new way to conceal big donations and decided they were no longer in favor of transparency. Democrats complained, but then quickly copied Republican fundraising tactics. Now that they’re getting big secret donations too, they’re starting to lose their enthusiasm for transparency the same way Republicans did. In a couple of years, secret donations from giant corporations and the rich will be so entrenched that it will be inconceivable it was ever any other way. Isn’t politics grand?

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate