How Much?
Jul 31, 202010.8K Shares725.1K Views
The presidential conventions serve many functions–one of which is allow corporate interests a unique opportunity to pump unlimited amounts of money into the political parties. Corporate donations to candidates are banned. Individual contributions to are limited to $2,300. But contributions to the convention committees are not limited. And they don’t have to be publicly disclosed until October.
So our colleagues at Colorado Independent asked the question, if the donors to the convention committees aren’t seeking to secretly influence the political process, they should be willing to disclose how much they are giving, right?
TCI asked all 112 corporate donors to the Democratic presidential convention committee to voluntarily disclose how much money they are giving. Yesterday, reporters J.C. O’Connell and Naomi Zeveloff published their findings. Only 23 (20 percent) agreed.
Last month Minnesota Independent surveyed 53 corporations donating to the Republican convention committee; only eight(15 percent) would voluntarily disclose their donations.
So when you see the televised pomp and circumstance at the end of the summer, remember the end of the “The Wizard of Oz.” Like the Wizard, the convention donors ask that you pay no attention to the corporations behind the curtain.
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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