Opinion: Imagine if candidates didn’t have to beg rich people for money
When many of the Democrats running for president announced that they would not accept donations from political action committees, it was one of those things that sounds like a principled sacrifice but doesn’t have much practical impact. After all, PACs aren’t allowed to give more than $5,000 to any one candidate, and they’ve been supplanted as major sources of outside money by super PACs and 501s.
Warren’s move will likely put pressure on other Democrats who are facing the daunting task of raising millions of dollars to get them through the primary while also appealing to a base increasingly suspicious of special interests and the influence of monied donors. Just to be clear, if you still want to write Warren a $2,700 check, she’ll accept it. There just won’t be a reception at which she’ll shake your hand, look deep into your eyes, and tell you how much she values your input on what she should do as president. She has also said she won’t be calling up donors individually to ask for donations — a chore known as “dialing for dollars,” which is loathed by every politician.