Big money in politics? More like huge

We hear a lot about big money in politics. But just how big? Candidates for a U.S. Senate seat from Wisconsin are raking in huge amounts of money in their bid to win election, and we are still 7 months from the election. The latest campaign finance report filings show Republican Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson has raised more than $1 million in just the first three months of this year. But that is a pittance compared to what his rich supporters have spent. Outside groups have already spent more than $9 million either to support Nicholson or to attack her opponent, incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin. Much of that money has come from just a few. The Koch brothers have kicked in about $5 million, while Illinois businessman Richard Uihlein has spent $4 million to try to get Nicholson elected. This is unprecedented for a U.S. Senate campaign. Outside groups have spent more than four times as much on negative ads against Baldwin than against any other U.S. Senator. Clearly we don’t like this level of spending, and all the attack ads they finance. 88% of La Crosse county voters said yes in the recent referendum asking if big money should be taken out of politics. Because Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat should not be available to the highest bidder.