Latest

NY Times: Democrats embraced dark money with ‘fresh zeal’ to win in 2020, topping GOP totals

January 30, 2022 | | Print Article

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

Despite spending years decrying so-called dark money, Democrats embraced dark money all throughout former President Donald Trump’s presidency, including in the 2020 presidential election.

“Spurred by opposition to then-President Trump, donors and operatives allied with the Democratic Party embraced dark money with fresh zeal, pulling even with and, by some measures, surpassing Republicans in 2020 spending,” The New York Times has confirmed.

“The analysis shows that 15 of the most politically active nonprofit organizations that generally align with the Democratic Party spent more than $1.5 billion in 2020 — compared to roughly $900 million spent by a comparable sample of 15 of the most politically active groups aligned with the G.O.P.”

These findings, the Times notes, “reveal the growth and ascendancy of a shadow political infrastructure that is reshaping American politics, as megadonors to these nonprofits take advantage of loose disclosure laws to make multimillion-dollar outlays in total secrecy.”

The language used by the Times echoes the language used in the bombshell Time magazine report last year about the “cabal of powerful people” who’d worked together in a “shadow campaign” to “control the flow of information” and “change voting systems and laws” ahead of the 2020 election.

Incidentally, the goal of the shadowy “cabal” had been the same as the Democrat Party’s dark money lovers — to take out Republicans.

Back in 2019, Politico reported that Democrats had embraced dark money in the 2018 race as well.

“The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a little-known nonprofit headquartered in Washington, spent $141 million on more than 100 left-leaning causes during the midterm election year, according to a new tax filing from the group. The money contributed to efforts ranging from fighting Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and other Trump judicial nominees to boosting ballot measures raising the minimum wage and changing laws on voting and redistricting in numerous states,” according to Politico.

“The spending was fueled by massive anonymous donations, including one gift totaling $51.7 million. That single donation was more than the group had ever raised before in an entire year before President Donald Trump was elected. Most of the group’s funders are likely to remain a mystery because federal law does not require ‘social welfare’-focused nonprofits to reveal their donors.”

Even far-left socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly got caught up in dark money, though she at the time denied the allegations against her:

Published three years since Politico’s report, the Times piece also mentions the infamous Sixteen Thirty Fund.

“A single, cryptically named entity that has served as a clearinghouse of undisclosed cash for the left, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, received mystery donations as large as $50 million and disseminated grants to more than 200 groups, while spending a total of $410 million in 2020 — more than the Democratic National Committee itself,” the Times’ report notes.

“The scale of secret spending is such that, even as small donors have become a potent force in politics, undisclosed money dwarfed the 2020 campaign fund-raising of President Biden (who raised a record $1 billion) and Mr. Trump (who raised more than $810 million).”

This group has reportedly even funneled its dark money to the disgraced, discredited Lincoln Project:

Conservatives for their part believe the group’s roots trace back to radical billionaire leftist George Soros because he has a history of recommending that donors give vast sums of money to the group.

Either way, in a blog post published last year, Sixteen Thirty Fund president Amy Kurtz defended the group’s behavior by saying they’re just trying “to level the playing field for progressives.”

“While we are dedicated to reducing the influence of special interest money in our politics, we are also committed to level the playing field for progressives. We believe those who support science, voting rights for every eligible voter, equity, and social justice need access to the same tools as those who oppose these core democratic ideals. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise,” she wrote.

In other words, it’s OK when her side does it because her side allegedly believes in science …

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles