Outside money and what it means for political parties in the 2016 presidential election

The 2016 presidential elections are expected to be the most expensive in the history of the United States. In 2012 President Obama led one of the most successful fund raising campaigns in recent history raising over 400 million dollars. In the upcoming 2016 election however two brothers are expected to donate more money than Obama and Romney were able to fundraise in 2012. The Koch Brothers are expected to donate around 900 million dollars to the Republican candidate's campaign in the 2016 presidential election. Ever since the Citizens United case and the creation of Super PACs rich donors have been able to support campaigns in ways unseen before. This is changing how party politics works and how candidates win nominations and elections. The support from rich donors has become increasingly more important than the support from the actual political party. Since rich donors are funding political parties the party tends to nominate a candidate these donors support otherwise they could potentially lose funding. This raises the question do donors control political parties and can money buy elections or candidates?

  Political Scientist Kathleen Bawn would argue yes. She suggests that political parties are masks used by interest groups and donors to elect politicians. These organizations and groups work together to form parties and to elect candidates. The candidates preferred by these groups are "true believers" who want to influence government in ways that give back to those groups that helped them win election. Thus parties exist because they are a brand and a face for these factional groups. The party represents general ideas and values that all these groups more or less share. These values then are passed along to the public as the party’s platform. But in reality the party is acting on behalf of various interests. This is true for both the Democratic and Republican Party. What is different about today and the upcoming election from previous ones is that these groups are now spending significantly more money than ever before.

The Koch Brothers are two brothers who plan on spending more than what the Republican or Democratic Party spent in the 2012 presidential election. They are expected to donate so much money that the Republican candidate who wins their support will have a significant advantage in the Republican primaries and in the presidential election. This outside influence from rich donors signals a continuing development in American politics that demonstrates how political parties are becoming more intertwined with outside money. Political parties are being run by interest groups and average Americans are losing the little influence they have on party politics. The Koch Brothers are pushing boundaries and expanding what power and influence wealthy individuals can have on parties.

In the upcoming election we will see how much money can influence party politics. We should expect candidates to be working closely with powerful donors and interest groups. This will however not be advertised because it is generally not politically savvy for candidates to be seen giving more attention to special interest groups than to the general public. More importantly this upcoming election will highlight the power that special interest groups have in influencing party politics. For example the Koch Brothers have already invited four possible republican contenders to speak at their own private meetings. They are looking for a candidate who is a “true believer”. This meeting and others have occurred before the nomination period has even begun. Interest groups and donors have started to select and work with their favorite politicians. If someone who is interested in running for president hasn’t reached out to these groups or donors it is unlikely they will be a contender in the upcoming election. Interest groups and donors are calling the shots within political parties for the 2016 presidential election. They are showing their strength and influence by donating enormous sums of money. Whether these actions will pay off can only be known after the election. The Koch Brothers and other outside parties are hopeful that by donating money they will be able influence potential candidates and help them win their parties nomination. If one of these candidates wins the election one can expect them to not forget about their donor’s support. The future president will not only be responsible for keeping promises to the American public but also to these small interest groups that helped them get elected.  

*Link to a clip from a Koch Brothers Forum with Rand Pual, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio debating:  

http://bcove.me/h5sbngmi

NYTimes article: Koch Brothers of $889 million for 2016 is on par with both parties' spending

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/us/politics/kochs-plan-to-spend-900-million-on-2016-campaign.html?_r=0

Politico Article:The Kochs put a price on 2016: $889 million

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/koch-2016-spending-goal-114604.html