The Presidential Primary is a Reality TV Show

The Presidential Primary is a Reality TV Show
Published: 11 Jun, 2015
2 min read

We have all seen it, a slew of contestants vying for the attention and affection of an eligible suitor. Welcome to The Bachelor: U.S. Presidential Primary addition, where the contestants are candidates and the prize is a billionaire willing to shower the lucky winner with an endless supply of campaign cash.

Look, there is nothing new about insanely wealthy interests getting involved in national politics -- I'm looking at you, Kennedys, Roosevelts, and Rockefellers. Hell money in politics is practically a national pastime. What is unusual about money in politics today is that the candidates are following the money instead of the money following the candidates. I'll explain.In previous elections, big-dollar donors would wait to see which candidate had the best viability before opening their check books. In 2015, candidates go to the check books before they go to the voters.

The primary for the Kochs, Adlesons, Ellisons, and Steyers is real and being taken seriously by almost all presidential hopefuls. In a very crowded GOP field, landing a big donor can be the difference in extending a campaign to the nomination. Talk about an uncle sugar, ehh Mike Huckabee.

What's worse is that many candidates are shifting their positions to align with mega donors. As the LA Times reports, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has had to reverse his position on an Export Import Bank, a government-backed agency that lent to foreign investors. The Kochs opposed the Export Import Bank so Jindal had to as well. Texas Governor Rick Perry also once favored the bank, but had to pen an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about his sudden change of heart.

Need more proof? Take the ethanol subsidy for farmers, a policy that is held sacred to many Iowans. Guess what? The Kochs don't like it, and now neither do Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio. In case you are not good at seeing irony, this is an unbelievably clear example of how candidates are bending to the will of rich donors instead of the people.

The kind of money that is being poured into early elections is meant to dilute the power of grassroots candidates who rely on their platform and relationship with the voters to propel them into the next primary. Candidates like Bernie Sanders and Ron Paul know this reality all too well. Even though their brand of politics is palatable to a lot of voters, they face serious odds when put against millions of dollars in PAC cash in small primaries.

Sorry America, looks like you will not be getting a rose in 2016.

You Might Also Like

New IVP 2026 California Governor Poll: What the Toplines Don’t Tell You
New IVP 2026 California Governor Poll: What the Toplines Don’t Tell You
Using verified California voter file data, IVP surveyed high-propensity voters from February 13 through 20. The poll tested first-choice ballot preferences alongside issue intensity on affordability and the cost of living, immigration enforcement, more choice reform, and more....
23 Feb, 2026
-
10 min read
81% of Americans Say Money Controls Politics – Can a Constitutional Amendment Fix It?
81% of Americans Say Money Controls Politics – Can a Constitutional Amendment Fix It?
Polls consistently show that nearly all Americans across the political spectrum agree that there is too much money in politics – whether from foreign sources, corporations, or so-called “dark money” groups. ...
23 Feb, 2026
-
13 min read
10 Reasons Why the Congressional Stock Trading Ban Will Never Pass
10 Reasons Why the Congressional Stock Trading Ban Will Never Pass
The overlap between committee assignments and stock ownership is not automatically illegal. Because the current legal framework permits this proximity as long as disclosure rules are followed, lawmakers are not operating under a system that forces change....
20 Feb, 2026
-
4 min read