In recent years, the activist left has built a network of left-leaning nonprofits to help tilt elections and ballot initiatives in favor of realizing far-left policy outcomes on abortion, gender identity, and DEI, among others. Politico highlighted the Arabella network’s role in the 2018 midterms, describing “an unprecedented gusher of secret money” that was “fueled by massive anonymous donations.” The New York Times noted how, in 2020, left-of-center nonprofits outspent “groups aligned with Republicans” $514 million to $200 million.
This surge in spending has brought scrutiny from Republicans in Congress and in the states, particularly around the role of foreign donors to candidate and ballot issue campaigns. Conservative media now features a steady drumbeat of coverage about “dark money” supporting various left-of-center causes. On Capitol Hill, Republicans hosted a hearing that highlighted the left’s growing nonprofit activities and the apparent hypocrisy of Democrats who spent much of the previous decade condemning conservative organizations and donors as “dark money.”
All of this raises a question: If “dark money” is so beneficial to Democrats, why do the party’s leaders consistently push for new and expansive donor disclosure laws?
The answer may be simple: Even when the left outspends the right, the value of silencing conservatives far exceeds the value of spending by left-leaning nonprofits.
Eric Kessler, the founder of Arabella Advisors, which serves as the head of the left’s sprawling nonprofit network, recently pledged his support to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s plan to “end the scourge of dark money.”
“I support the DISCLOSE
