What constitutes an ‘Establishment’ player?
Since the rise of the ‘Tea Party’ movement, certain elements of it have been co-opted by those who were originally threatened by it. The reality that money is the mothers milk of politics cannot be ignored however. The left has their billionaire backers, and we have our own.
Power is an aphrodisiac.
After spending more than a couple million in political expenditures attempting to gain a regents seat on the most liberal university in our state, Ron Weiser finally succeeded in 2016. Riding the coattails of the now-president, a man who was one of the few candidates he did not financially support prior to Trump winning the GOP nomination.
That is how it works however, when an power seeking opportunist with a full wallet wants access to the oval office perhaps? Truth be told, the $120,000 (roughly) given to the Trump Victory PAC may well have played a small part in Trump’s victory in Michigan. Even one stop missed (easily $100K in expense) might have spelled doom for the effort.