Letters to the Editor: Small donors are too powerful? Tell that to Clarence Thomas
To the editor: Jonah Goldberg is wrong to say small donors are wrecking American politics. The few dozen families who contribute much of the money raised by Republican candidates want only one thing out of their candidates: tax cuts.
They don’t want regulations, social programs or unions. Their elected representatives say no to almost all legislation, creating the gridlock that turns off voters who think nothing gets done in Washington or local government.
They feel their vote doesn’t matter, and that is the plan. The rich love the status quo.
People need to get wise to the fact that the wealthy have set up as a system that sends most of the money their way. Citizens need to vote and send people to state and federal legislatures who will tax wealth and break the hold of the rich on the levers of power.
The recent example of their hold on Supreme Court justices should alert people to just who the wealthy are getting elected to our legislatures.
Michael Hittleman, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Goldberg ignores the actual problem in favor of a straw man.
In Ohio’s recent election on amending the state Constitution, one out-of-state donor, the Uihlein family, contributed almost half of all donations to the losing “yes†side, but was swamped by the thousands of small donors to the “no†side.
The reason the Republican legislators reversed themselves to allow an August election was to satisfy the desires of mega donors like Richard Uihlein who know they can’t win a fair plebiscite on abortion. It’s the same reason Republicans have majorities in the Ohio General Assembly — the huge sums donated by billionaires that local candidates can’t possibly match.
Unless we remove the unequal influence of mega donors, our democratic republic will continue to be in danger.
John Gallogly, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Goldberg is on to something, but he doesn’t go far enough.
Both large and small donors have outsized influence on numerous aspects of how Washington and the rest of this country function. Better to enact complete campaign finance reform and have all costs for qualifying candidates paid by the government itself.
Any individual who wants to help a candidate get elected can volunteer as much of their time as they want. If they still want to do more, they can always check the box at the end of their tax return.
Thomas Miller, Long Beach
