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That above image and caption are also presented on the sidebar. This post will scroll into history, while the impact of the screen capture from the Mertens' WallStreetOnParade, deserves longer attention. That linked item is where the following early paragraphs are fleshed out later in the linked item.
We immediately headed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC.gov) website to see if Big Oil or its attached-at-the-hip Charles Koch network was behind this candidate. Ramaswamy wants to stroll into the highest office in the United States despite no prior public office experience. (Because that worked out so well for all of us the last time.)
Thus far, the big money trail has not led directly to Big Oil or the Koch network, but just give it time. Ramaswamy is espousing the key hot button issues that the big money Koch crowd demand in their candidates. Ramaswamy’s official website lists these goals for his administration: “Drill, frack & burn coal: abandon the climate cult & unshackle nuclear energy;” cut the headcount among U.S. regulators by 75 percent; relaunch the Reagan deregulatory revolution.
According to the Federal Election Commission, through June 30, Ramaswamy’s campaign coffers have taken in $19.16 million, of which $15.25 million came from Ramaswamy’s loans to the campaign and another $750,462 in his own contributions to his campaign. To put it another way, 84 percent of Ramaswamy’s campaign support has come out of his own pocket – despite his efforts to make it appear that he has broad support for his platform. In fact, when he stated on stage that climate change was a hoax, he was loudly booed by the Republican audience in attendance.
So how did Ramaswamy get those tens of thousands of individual donations to qualify him to appear on the debate stage? He spent $10.13 million of his own money to raise $3.16 million from other people in the first six months of this year.
Their method is direct. First look at FEC filings. Then, something which those less enterprising pundits ignore as being real work, they research the top money payees, and encapsulate a view of some of what's propelled Vivek onto stage center besides being smart, rich, articulate and hard working. It is not a long analysis, but good and to the point. (Hint: The top payee had a hand in making a past race closer than many might have guessed.)
The question of whether what we see is Vivek the person, or Vivek the creation of astute internal polling and image manipulation and polishing, focus groups tried one way, tried another, until BINGO, we go with that.
Vivek does add a salesman's approach that the competing career politicians have yet to fully try. If Vivek continues to gain momentum, the market will follow, Ron keeping up as best he can. Don still with half of the reported public polling percentage among likely Republican primary voters; early.
They are Republican voters. The rest of us cannot understand how they think, if they think. It seems a more visceral thing at play than regular thought. But one of their votes counts as much as yours, so that they have to be taken seriously.