@politicscash

The 2020 Democratic Primary has yet to have officially started – but plenty of candidates have already announced presidential campaigns in an effort to make their way to the White House.

Campaign finance and the role of corporations has became a growing topic in the Democratic Party – specifically with candidates promising to refuse any form of corporate donations or support.

However, many of these candidates who now pledge to refuse any form of corporate or possibly-biased funding have a deep history with said support. Be it ties to big business, corrupt individuals, or massive Super PACs – not all Democrats who are pledging to fight against corporate money in politics have shown loyalty to the effort in their careers.

Still in 2019, some candidates are showing signs of rather shady donation practices – even after making campaign messages saying they will work against corporate money and corruption in politics.

Note: The companies which will be detailed did not make direct donations to the candidates. That is not legally allowed. However – these corporations can bypass these laws by sending smaller donations through the corporation’s employees, executives, family members, and PACs. In the eyes of the law, this appears to be a form of irony – but it is a dark, purposeful practice.

California Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)

Wells Fargo – $19,263.00
Apple – $17,056.00
Microsoft – $15,586.00
Facebook – $12,382.00

Kamala’s group of corporate donors is a collection of Wells Fargo – an incredibly controversial banking corporation; and the Silicon Valley triage of Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)

Strategic Growth Bank – $17,302.00
Sanchez Energy – $16,800.00
Cisco Systems – $16,439.00

Beto O’Rourke, a Texan through-and-through, tellingly; has tens of thousands of dollars from banking, energy, and technology groups.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Heartland Realty Investors – $22,400.00
Best Buy – $16,000.00
Goldman Sachs – $11,200.00

Klobuchar’s corporate donors are quite diverse – going into the fields of real estate, retail, and banking; with the ever-controversial Goldman Sachs, who played a notable role in damaging the reputation of 2016 Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)

Sullivan & Cromwell – $46,780.00
McManimon, Scotland & Baumann – $24,800.00
Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett – $22,850.00
Decotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole – $19,600.00

The New Jersey Senator with strong ties to the pharmaceutical industry has a massive collection of donations from the legal sector. Unfortunately for Booker, these legal groups do not have a clean past.

Sullivan & Cromwell helped to support a coup d’etat in the nation of Guatemala. McManimon, Scotland & Baumann are a legal group for real estate development in the State of New Jersey. Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett have employed layers who went on to work for Goldman Sachs, Apple, and The Blackstone Group. And lastly, Decotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole has previously given money to former Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie (R-NJ), former U.S. President George Bush (R-TX), and their top recipient – New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2017.

Great people to affiliate your “grassroots” campaigns with.

Sources – OpenSecrets.org, OurHiddenHistory.org

The 2018 midterms are a long-gone memory of most Americans, a one night occurrence which led to some Democratic flips, Republican holds, and the same old process of politics America goes through with every midterm election.

But it’s important to understand how much of a role corporate influence played in the midterms – how it shaped the election, led to the night itself, and how it still has a lasting aftermath.

A simple view of some of the top donors of the 2018 Midterms shows a web of intriguing, confusing, and sometimes dark influencers who had a loud say in the 2018 Midterms.

Let’s take a look at some of the top donors.

Steven A. Schwarzmann – CEO of The Blackstone Group

Steven A. Schwarzmann, with a net worth of $13,500,000,000.00, gave $11,750,000.00 to Super PACs in the 2018 midterms. A close friend of President Donald J. Trump and former President George Bush, Schwarzmann made his wealth with The Blackstone Group, a private equity group. Little to the knowledge of many however, The Blackstone Group is responsible for doing such things as purchasing single-family homes during the financial crisis of 2007/08 and selling them to be rented, by lobbying against efforts such as socialized healthcare and the expansion of Social Security.

Joshua Bekenstein – Co-Chairman of Bain Capital

Joshua Bekenstein is currently the Co-Chairman of Bain Capital, an American private investment firm. Contributing $6,650,000.00 in the 2018 midterms, Bekenstein gave to several groups such as League of Conservation Voters and the Priorities USA Action PAC. Bain Capital made its rise through the American business ranks through doing such things as investing in offshore companies in Panama (a frequent tax evasion scheme), outsourcing jobs in their investment companies, and playing a large role in the 2007/08 global financial crisis.

The “Koch Brothers” – Koch Industries

Charles Koch is the 8th richest person in the world, with a massive net worth of $51,000,000,000.00. His brother, David, holds a net worth of $51,200,000,000.00. Politically known as the “Koch Brothers”, these billionaires are known to throw around dark, corporate money and hold a massive say in, mainly, right-wing American politics. In the year of 2018, they donated $12,060,720.00 to campaigns – and spent $9,990,000.00 on lobbying. Some of their top recipients in 2018 include New York Congressman Lee Zeldin ($20,000.00), New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney ($12,700.00), and now-Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn ($22,800.00).