In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck sits down with Stanford political scientist Adam Bonica to unpack the dark underbelly of political fundraising. Bonica reveals how the Democratic consulting firm Mothership Strategies helped shape modern campaign fundraising — and how their tactics, often resembling internet scams, have extracted hundreds of millions from small-dollar donors, many of whom are elderly or unaware they’ve been opted into recurring donations. Together, they explore how much of that money never reaches campaigns at all, instead being funneled into consultant fees and internal operations that border on money laundering.

The conversation broadens into the systemic corruption of campaign finance: both parties’ use of apocalyptic fear-mongering, the rise of Super PACs with minimal voter impact, and how America’s extreme wealth inequality has distorted democratic accountability. Bonica explains why the public now views the very need to raise money as inherently corrupt — and how anti-corruption could be the strongest defense against authoritarian drift. As billions pour into elections with diminishing effect, Chuck and Adam question whether the next era of U.S. politics can ever be disentangled from the cash that drives it.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Adam Bonica joins the Chuck ToddCast

03:00 Fundraising tactics are beyond bizarre

05:30 Mothership strategies behind much of the Dem advertising

08:00 Democratic candidates were enamored by Mothership’s strategy

10:15 Many donors had been suffering from cognitive decline

11:30 PAC’s were basically money laundering

13:35 Most fundraising dollars were spent internally on consultants

15:00 Both parties use apocalyptic language when fundraising

17:00 Campaign fundraising using the same tactics as scammers

18:30 Political fundraisers prey on older people

20:30 Donors have to actively uncheck recurring donations

21:15 ActBlue adopted new rules after Adam’s reporting

24:00 Mothership has raised hundreds of millions of dollars

28:00 Mothership claims their fight is a “necessary evil”

31:00 The public is very concerned about corruption

31:45 Anti-corruption is the #1 anti-authoritarian strategy

33:15 Public sees the need to raise money as a form of corruption

34:45 There is so much corruptibility on the fundraising side of politics

35:30 Money spent by Super PACs has almost no effect on public opinion

36:45 Trump was outspent and still won

37:30 Democrats have fundraising advantage they are squandering

38:15 Most Republican donor money came from $1M+ earners

39:00 Democrats dominating donations from young professionals

42:00 Democrats would gain credibility advantage disavowing dark money

44:30 American wealth inequality is reaching extreme territory

46:15 Billionaires aren’t aligned with root Democratic party politics

49:15 Will we see $5B presidential elections in 2028?

50:45 There is more money per swing voter than ever

52:30 $500m will be spent on CA redistricting

55:00 Mainstream journalism rarely audits where money goes

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08-13-09 Sean Paxton, The Homebrew Chef - Basic Brewing Radio