Political Irony

The NY Times has a fascinating inside look at how Super-PACs work, how the Democrats are playing catch-up against the Republicans. And why they have to catch up, even though they at a huge disadvantage.

[The disadvantage comes from] the Democratic Party’s greater struggle with its prim self-perception. From the perspective of many Democrats, this year’s foray into post-Citizens United campaigning calls to mind an ‘Apocalypse Now’-like journey into the maw of something darker than death itself — namely, a morality-free zone in which Republicans alone can thrive.

[For Democratic donors] their only motivation to contribute is a moral one, while Republicans like the Koch brothers donate because they stand to make gobs of money if their pro-business candidate is elected. One of Priorities’ big donors told me another reason that conservatives are more suited to a post-Citizens United climate than progressives. “To me, a lot of the super-PAC money on the Republican side comes from hatred,” he said. “We Democrats just don’t hate like that.”