On this election day as I read Judd's column on the amount of dark money in the midterms, there was a pit in my stomach as I thought "just IMAGINE" what this amount of money could do to help solve so many problems our Country is facing. Then I read your one-line comment and smiled as I saw that someone else has the same thought as I did. So I send out the wish and hope that at the end of the counting of all the votes, the candidates who are elected will be able to preserve our DEMOCRACY, the OATH to our Constitution and the RULE of LAW. Thank you, Donna.
ARGH! John Robert's you complete and total toad! That is his legacy. Opening the door to this monster. Leaving this comment and going directly to Judd's piece in The Guardian. We've got to get all this money OUT OF POLITICS. For heaven's sake, let's at least put caps on how much.
What’s the return on investment (ROI) for welfare queen Elon Musk to donate $474 million to Republicans in order to get $38 billion in Federal contracts for Space X, Starlink, Tesla and Boring? We did the math and the answer is 8,000%. Follow the money behind his grift with this interactive map.
At what point does it stop being free and fair elections and "sold to the highest bidder"? Wait, have we passed that point? Leon Musk: go home to your own country and I do not mean Texas.
I take some solace in the fact that Nate Silver's election models only account for number of donors (which is predictive of outcomes) and not total amount spent (which is not). It's basically just a wealth transfer from billionaires to local/national TV stations.
We must eliminate big money in politics. To do that we need to expand the court to overturn Citizens United and other money = speech rulings. We also need clear laws that remove any claim that "corporations are people". And we need to start jailing politicians and the donors who bribe them. Enough is enough, especially when you realize that Elon Fucking Musk, illegal immigrant, spent $400M to buy Republicans in this midterm cycle alone.
Yes, it is certainly another issue that needs to be addressed, but will it ever be? The Reds may take more of it than the Blues, but both sides have their greasy little hands deep in the bucket.
Have to love the irony of the Republicans being designated the 'Reds' though. Joe McCarthy must be spinning in his grave.
The 150 page 2024 IRS form 990 (Return of Tax Exempt Organization) for Donor’s Trust, Inc., a dark money 501(c)(3) entity, EIN: 52-2166327 (p. 1. §D) shows that during 2024, it took in gross receipts of more than 1/3 of a $TRILLION ($345,528,988; p. 1. §G) for, among similar purposes, “encourag[ing] private philanthropy and individual giving and responsibility as an answer to society's needs, as opposed to governmental involvement” (fundamentally conservative causes that benefit their agenda (p. 2, §4a). Grants to >900 identified US supported organizations, including the stated purposes and amounts given are on Sch. I, starting at p. 36). Many gifts are <$100K, but many are much higher, with a consider number >$1M: (~$7M/p.44; ~$5M/p.50; $7M/p.51; $3.75M/p.58; $4M+/p/62; $4M+/p.66; $5M/p.70 (2x); $20M+/p.4; $35M/p.96). The types and purposes of the funded entities frequently are camouflaged with innocuous sounding names; others leave no room for doubt. On Sch. O (Supp. Info; p. 145) the 990 notes it: “also offers practical solutions to social problems by supporting organizations that are engaged in hands-on assistance that is designed to promote individual responsibility rather than dependence on governmental assistance” (to support their right wing ideological agenda (i.e., as to them, “for me, not thee”)). https://tinyurl.com/293ax2an
Imagine the good that this amount of money could do instead of being wasted like this. It’s really sad.
On this election day as I read Judd's column on the amount of dark money in the midterms, there was a pit in my stomach as I thought "just IMAGINE" what this amount of money could do to help solve so many problems our Country is facing. Then I read your one-line comment and smiled as I saw that someone else has the same thought as I did. So I send out the wish and hope that at the end of the counting of all the votes, the candidates who are elected will be able to preserve our DEMOCRACY, the OATH to our Constitution and the RULE of LAW. Thank you, Donna.
If I might suggest supplemental reading for this article, there's a great piece in The Guardian about how we can fight dark money in American politics from some guy named Judd Legum (doubt you've heard of him). https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/02/how-you-yes-you-can-fight-dark-money-in-elections
ARGH! John Robert's you complete and total toad! That is his legacy. Opening the door to this monster. Leaving this comment and going directly to Judd's piece in The Guardian. We've got to get all this money OUT OF POLITICS. For heaven's sake, let's at least put caps on how much.
What’s the return on investment (ROI) for welfare queen Elon Musk to donate $474 million to Republicans in order to get $38 billion in Federal contracts for Space X, Starlink, Tesla and Boring? We did the math and the answer is 8,000%. Follow the money behind his grift with this interactive map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/11/02/elon-musk-gop-donations-federal-contracts/
At what point does it stop being free and fair elections and "sold to the highest bidder"? Wait, have we passed that point? Leon Musk: go home to your own country and I do not mean Texas.
Elon wants to control the elections and space... we actually pay him for his thievery
Grrrrrr…….
I take some solace in the fact that Nate Silver's election models only account for number of donors (which is predictive of outcomes) and not total amount spent (which is not). It's basically just a wealth transfer from billionaires to local/national TV stations.
We must eliminate big money in politics. To do that we need to expand the court to overturn Citizens United and other money = speech rulings. We also need clear laws that remove any claim that "corporations are people". And we need to start jailing politicians and the donors who bribe them. Enough is enough, especially when you realize that Elon Fucking Musk, illegal immigrant, spent $400M to buy Republicans in this midterm cycle alone.
Yes, it is certainly another issue that needs to be addressed, but will it ever be? The Reds may take more of it than the Blues, but both sides have their greasy little hands deep in the bucket.
Have to love the irony of the Republicans being designated the 'Reds' though. Joe McCarthy must be spinning in his grave.
Citizens United will go down in history as one of the worst Supreme Court decisions. We need Nuremberg 2. Clean out the Roberts Court.
OMG!! “Non Profits”? I would LOVE to see their financials.
GREAT Reporting, as always!!
Thanks for information
Heading to Guardian - which I do read -glad you have an essay there
Thanks for the hard work
The 150 page 2024 IRS form 990 (Return of Tax Exempt Organization) for Donor’s Trust, Inc., a dark money 501(c)(3) entity, EIN: 52-2166327 (p. 1. §D) shows that during 2024, it took in gross receipts of more than 1/3 of a $TRILLION ($345,528,988; p. 1. §G) for, among similar purposes, “encourag[ing] private philanthropy and individual giving and responsibility as an answer to society's needs, as opposed to governmental involvement” (fundamentally conservative causes that benefit their agenda (p. 2, §4a). Grants to >900 identified US supported organizations, including the stated purposes and amounts given are on Sch. I, starting at p. 36). Many gifts are <$100K, but many are much higher, with a consider number >$1M: (~$7M/p.44; ~$5M/p.50; $7M/p.51; $3.75M/p.58; $4M+/p/62; $4M+/p.66; $5M/p.70 (2x); $20M+/p.4; $35M/p.96). The types and purposes of the funded entities frequently are camouflaged with innocuous sounding names; others leave no room for doubt. On Sch. O (Supp. Info; p. 145) the 990 notes it: “also offers practical solutions to social problems by supporting organizations that are engaged in hands-on assistance that is designed to promote individual responsibility rather than dependence on governmental assistance” (to support their right wing ideological agenda (i.e., as to them, “for me, not thee”)). https://tinyurl.com/293ax2an
Thank you John Roberts--you should be indicted for crimes against humanity.