Senator Chuck Schumer is not happy with the Supreme Court’s decision in McCutcheon v. FEC, which did away with aggregate limits on political contributions. In a press conference yesterday and in subsequent comments he decried the influence of big money in politics, saying that in allowing bigger contributions, “it would be like the 1890s. We’d go back to the days of the robber barons.”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5uLtQaiw3Z8
“The Roberts court has yet again turned the clock back on democracy by eliminating the cap on overall donations to federal candidates, political parties, and PACs,” Schumer said on Wednesday. “Today’s ruling, decided once again by the mere slimmest of majorities, is yet another nail in the coffin of our free and fair election system.”
It seems Schumer has forgotten his own history.
According to Open Secrets, Schumer has received over $68.5 million in contributions since 1989. In the past decade alone he has received $35.1 million.
Over the course of his career he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from giant finance firms, each of which donated far more than the average American would be able to. For example, Goldman Sachs has donated $514,00 to the Schumer cause and Citigroup $434,000.
“The Koch brothers and other wealthy donors have already wreaked havoc on our system,” he went on. Perhaps Schumer thinks wealthy donors only wreak havoc when they donate to Republicans.