Friday, July 12, 2013

But... But... But... CITIZENS UNITED!*!?!?#!!!***~@!~!~!!!

Jonah Goldberg writing in the -- "is it insane... or so sane you just blew your mind?" -- G-File newsletter, points us to this helpful table at OpenSecrets.

I think this is pretty fascinating. You know all that stuff about the Koch brothers pouring money into our politics? You know all that hoo-ha about Citizens United opening the floodgates for rivers of corporate money that will drown the poor and disenfranchised? Well, here's a list of the top all-time donors from 1989 to 2012. In the top 20, 14 lean Democratic, two lean Republican. The Republicans appear in slots 18 and 19, by the way. Oh, and Koch Industries? That behemoth trampling democracy? It's the 62nd biggest donor. The horror!

Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2012

LEGEND:   Republican    Democrat    On the fence



= Between 40% and 59% to both parties
= Leans Dem/Repub (60%-69%)
= Strongly Dem/Repub (70%-89%)
= Solidly Dem/Repub (over 90%)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% as money can be given to third party
candidates or outside spending groups and PACs not affiliated with either party.
RankOrganizationTotal '89-'12Dem %Repub %Tilt
1ActBlue$88,679,13899%0%    
2AFSCME$57,614,51483%1%  
3AT&T Inc$56,607,79541%57%
4National Education Assn$52,581,91563%4%
5National Assn of Realtors$50,702,59744%46%
6Goldman Sachs$44,084,50053%43%
7Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers$43,786,20792%2%    
8American Assn for Justice$41,922,95185%7%  
9United Auto Workers$41,807,58971%0%  
10Service Employees International Union$37,344,20284%2%  
11American Federation of Teachers$36,839,72788%0%  
12Laborers Union$36,834,41685%6%  
13Carpenters & Joiners Union$36,784,20978%10%  
14Communications Workers of America$35,798,42387%0%  
15Teamsters Union$34,668,24191%5%    
16United Food & Commercial Workers Union$33,567,23286%0%  
17Citigroup Inc$31,916,86848%50%
18United Parcel Service$31,745,44035%64%
19National Auto Dealers Assn$31,537,59931%68%
20Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union$31,061,99798%1%    
21American Bankers Assn$30,631,34236%63%
22American Medical Assn$29,966,62640%59%
23AFL-CIO$29,608,74466%3%
24JPMorgan Chase & Co$29,365,37247%51%
25Altria Group$28,794,62326%72%  
26Microsoft Corp$28,629,30954%44%
27National Beer Wholesalers Assn$28,234,49535%64%
28EMILY's List$28,099,95898%0%    
29Blue Cross/Blue Shield$27,699,00536%63%
30National Assn of Home Builders$27,187,28035%64%
31General Electric$26,913,23848%51%
32Lockheed Martin$26,085,67743%56%
33National Assn of Letter Carriers$26,003,87484%9%  
34Bank of America$25,889,55341%57%
35Morgan Stanley$25,425,06343%56%
36Verizon Communications$25,189,75940%59%
37FedEx Corp$25,185,58838%61%
38Newsweb Corp$24,379,87141%0%
39Deloitte LLP$24,308,91035%64%
40Time Warner$24,108,92672%25%  
41Credit Union National Assn$23,497,81547%51%
42Plumbers & Pipefitters Union$23,331,55985%4%  
43Ernst & Young$22,941,31742%57%
44American Hospital Assn$22,813,33352%47%
45International Assn of Fire Fighters$22,406,84079%17%  
46Sheet Metal Workers Union$22,168,17896%2%    
47PricewaterhouseCoopers$22,126,34535%63%
48Operating Engineers Union$21,841,87582%13%  
49American Dental Assn$21,545,94444%54%
50UBS AG$20,852,29240%58%
51Boeing Co$20,847,01546%52%
52National Rifle Assn$20,242,68417%82%  
53Northrop Grumman$19,878,63542%57%
54AFLAC Inc$19,440,57443%56%
55Union Pacific Corp$19,400,84826%72%  
56Comcast Corp$19,349,41757%42%
57Air Line Pilots Assn$19,282,54783%16%  
58Pfizer Inc$19,159,62734%65%
59Natl Assn/Insurance & Financial Advisors$19,037,52441%58%
60Honeywell International$18,331,77244%54%
61American Postal Workers Union$17,703,15886%3%  
62Koch Industries $17,443,5738%90%    
63Credit Suisse Group$17,225,54642%57%

I, for one, blame Bush.

See the full list at: OpenSecrets.org.

2 comments:

K-Bob said...

People who channel taxpayer money into a political party should hard time in federal prison.

NEA,
Postal Workers Union,
SEIU,

And all the others. It is a level of corruption equal to kidnapping, extortion, and counterfeiting.

The Elephant's Child said...

Where does the Democracy Alliance figure in in all of this?