John Lopez complains about the effects of Michael Bloomberg’s and George Soros’ billions influencing the electoral process (Letters, Herald, Oct. 2). In so doing, he seems to overlook the influence of the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, among others on the Republican side. Michael Bloomberg and George Soros have been calculated to be worth around $5 billion each. David and Charles Koch are each calculated to be worth more than $35 billion dollars, and Sheldon Adelson is worth more than $25 billion. That’s about $10 billion vs. $95 billion. In the last election (2012) the Kochs spent more than $400 million and Adelson spent more than $50 million. The Koch brothers have announced that they plan to spend at least $500 million in 2014. Adelson has not, to my knowledge, announced a specific amount, but indicates that whatever it takes will be his expenditure in 2014.
By contrast, Bloomberg is limiting his outlays to gun-related issues at around $5-10 million. Soros is still on the sidelines. Prior to the Citizens United ruling in 2010, an entire federal election was conducted for less than $500 million, but now it is now possible for the Koch brothers to buy their own government, and for them, $1 billion per election cycle would amount to only about 2.8 percent of their net worth. Or if the Koch brothers were to join up with Adelson, buying an entire government would only take 1 percent of their net worth per two-year cycle. It would take both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to equal the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson’s bank accounts. When Lopez talks about the “pot” he should also be talking about the “kettle.”
The situation we face is horrible, and is going to get worse with each election cycle.
Robert Konradi
Durango
