MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - Political donors in the United States can now finance as many candidates as they wish, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The ruling in this year's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission case has removed the limit on the number of candidates political donors are allowed to provide funding for, leading to a much closer funding relationship between election candidates and donors, The Washington Post reported.
Andrew Sabin, owner of a New York-based precious metals refining business and one of the biggest political donors in the United States, praised the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the limit back in April. He has been financing congressional candidates in Colorado, Texas, Iowa and Alaska who have even paid him visits of gratitude.
“You have to realize, when you start contributing to all these guys, they give you access to meet them and talk about your issues. They know that I’m a big supporter,” Sabin was quoted by The Washington Post as saying.
With candidates happy about incoming funding from political donors, the ruling has sparked controversy in that the ever-growing funding by mega-donors will lead to the political system increasingly favoring the rich, an issue Democrat candidates plan on addressing during midterm elections later this year, The Washington Post reported. Almost all of the donors The Washington Post interviewed have been observed to finance Republican rather than Democrat candidates.
However, not everyone believes in the political system taking such a turn. Stanley Hubbard, a Minnesota media mogul who largely backs Republicans and conservatives was quoted by The Washington Post as saying, “The average person can get their friends together and raise small donations that amount to big donations.”
Hubbard also stated that in light of the ruling he has been swamped with endless calls for donations.
