The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent has an urgent post up this week making the case that it is “Time for Democratic donors to wake up.” Sargent noted that “pro-Romney forces may be able to raise and spend no less than $1 billion” while “Priorities USA and Priorities USA Action have only raised a combined $10 million.” Sargent then asked Paul Begala, an adviser to Priorities USA, to explain why Democrats were so far behind Republican fundraising totals.
Let’s leave aside the question of why The Post is essentially paying a blogger to author and promote what can only be seen as a fundraising pitch for the Democratic Party. For now, let’s focus more on this paragraph:
For anyone who has worked on Capitol Hill or on K Street (I’ve done both) this statement is either an comically naive or an outright lie. But don’t take my word for it. Here is The New York Times from last Saturday:
“If you want to call it ‘quid pro quo,’ fine,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to make sure I do my part.”
In case you have any doubt that the Obama and the Democrats all about “quid pro quo” for their donors, consider these headlines:
80% of Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Donors
Democratic Party, Helped by Wall Street, Outraises Republicans
Big Pharma a Big Winner in Health Care Reform
This isn’t to say that everyone who gives money to politicians does so on a “quid pro quo” basis. There are some “true believers” out there (and when I worked for a lobbying firm in college that is literally what we would call them; “true believers”). In fact, Begala’s bogeyman, the Koch brothers, are some of the biggest “true believers” out there.
