The Party of The Rich

If you were asked to wager on which political party received more contributions in excess of $100 and which party received more contributions of $100 or less, where would you put your money? The safe bet is that the “Fat-Cat Republicans” would be reeling in the high-dollar donations, while the “Champions of the Working Man” get the leftovers, all of the little donations, the fives, tens and twenties –- presumably from the soiled and calloused hands of the Working Man. Right? That is, after all, the carefully groomed perception, and while the race doesn’t always go to the swiftest runner, that is where the “smart money” goes.

Let’s look at it another way: There are 435 congressional districts. If you were to examine the top 35%, in terms of wealth and income, which political party would you guess represents more of the nation’s richest districts? Again (and according to popular perception), the answer seems obvious. The Republicans would certainly represent the majority of those districts containing the wealthiest constituents, the “upper crust” of society. Right?

Wrong on both counts: The Democratic Party receives far more “Fat Cat” contributions than Republicans do, and they also represent about 60% of the wealthiest districts in America. Fully half of the richest households reside in states where both senators are Democrats. Party of the Rich? You tell me…

Bottom Line: The MSM goes to a lot of trouble to fashion Republicans as “Fat Cat” businessmen (not women!) in contrast to the Democrat-as-savior-of-the-working-man. And they work awfully hard to maintain the illusion that only Republicans are corporate CEO’s -- overcharging us poor citizens for basic necessities, fouling our air, polluting our water, and taking advantage of those who selflessly toil in their employ -- and that “Big Business” doesn’t donate millions and millions of dollars to the Democratic Party.

While we’re at it, does anyone want to guess which political party typically receives more donations from Wall Street? Who receives more from the American Bar Association? The ACLU? The SEIU? The UAW? Teacher’s Unions? What about Journalist’s unions and entertainment guilds? Do you suppose some of these alliances might have “contributed” to the general (and completely backwards) perception that Republicans are evil money-grubbers while Democrats care more about their fellow man?

Like so many other “hard truths” we’re supposed to believe, if we simply follow the money, it begs the question: How dumb do they think we are?

REFERENCES & ADDITIONAL READING

I was aware that the "Party of the Rich" dynamic shifted quite some time ago, but the most recent piece in which it was discussed is “The New Party of the Rich,” by Donald Lambro, published on November 29th, 2007.