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Bloomberg and Steyer have pretty much disproved the notion that you can easily buy your way into politics. Most people don't even know who Steyer is. How many

Bloomberg and Steyer have pretty much disproved the notion that you can easily buy your way into politics. Most people don't even know who Steyer is. How many Steyers are out there? When a rich person tries to become notable and fails you just don't hear about them. When a rich person does something big you assume it's because of their wealth being their most apparent unique characteristic. President Trump is one of the few who made it. And he actually didn't spend that much money on the campaign at all. Switched to regular fundraising pretty fast. Sure, there's no question that his wealth is a big part of who he is. If anything he leveraged people's obsession with wealth rather than his wealth itself. You're still going to deal with nation state and corporate lobbying without private wealth. Successful private lobbying efforts get all attention because of how uncommon it is. How long have Koch brother[s] been at it? They pretty much were life long political activists. And most of that is out of personal conviction. Doesn't seem to me like they have attained any concerning levels of power at all given their dedication.

throwawaygh 6y ago
> How long have Koch brother[s] been at it? They pretty much were life long political activists. That's... an understatement. They were life long members of the donor class. It's not like they spent their 20s-40s knocking on doors and then hit it big. > And most of that is out of personal conviction. Well, yes... that's what I meant by "would they have the same policy preferences and demeanors?" -- I think there are striking policy differences between Bloomberg and Kochs/Trump that are probably in part explained by the differences in their life experiences. > Doesn't seem to me like they have attained any concerning levels of power at all given their dedication. I can tell you're not in Kansas anymore ;) From David Koch's very level-headed obit in the Wichita Eagle: "David and Charles Koch unmistakably altered the political scene" https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article234301367.html#storylink=cpy https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article234301367.html#s... Democrats in Kansas can get a bit over the top, but pretty much everyone on all sides of the political spectrum agree that the Kochs are synonymous with Kansas politics. Anyways, yes, rich people both by inheritance and self-made will get involved in politics with varying levels of types of success. But I think it's corrupting for people to spend their entire lives in the donor class. Ascending to that position breeds a different type that inheriting that position. And, to be clear, this isn't even ideological; Trump and the Kochs aren't exactly the best of friends.

throwawaygh 6y ago

> How long have Koch brother[s] been at it? They pretty much were life long political activists. That's... an understatement. They were life long members of the donor class. It's not like they spent their 20s-40s knocking on doors and then hit it big. > And most of that is out of personal conviction. Well, yes... that's what I meant by "would they have the same policy preferences and demeanors?" -- I think there are striking policy differences between Bloomberg and Kochs/Trump that are probably in part explained by the differences in their life experiences. > Doesn't seem to me like they have attained any concerning levels of power at all given their dedication. I can tell you're not in Kansas anymore ;) From David Koch's very level-headed obit in the Wichita Eagle: "David and Charles Koch unmistakably altered the political scene" https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article234301367.html#storylink=cpy https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article234301367.html#s... Democrats in Kansas can get a bit over the top, but pretty much everyone on all sides of the political spectrum agree that the Kochs are synonymous with Kansas politics. Anyways, yes, rich people both by inheritance and self-made will get involved in politics with varying levels of types of success. But I think it's corrupting for people to spend their entire lives in the donor class. Ascending to that position breeds a different type that inheriting that position. And, to be clear, this isn't even ideological; Trump and the Kochs aren't exactly the best of friends.