Bernie Sanders' famous debate talking point was that he was getting his donations from small dollar donors. Crowds were told that the average donation was only $27. But they weren't told where the money was going.
The small-dollar fundraising juggernaut that has kept Bernie Sanders’s insurgent White House bid afloat far longer than anticipated has generated another unexpected impact: a financial windfall for his team of Washington consultants.
And that's why the Sanders campaign keeps dragging on. So the campaign consultants can make money.
By the end of March, the self-described democratic socialist senator from Vermont had spent nearly $166 million on his campaign — more than any other 2016 presidential contender, including rival Hillary Clinton. More than $91 million went to a small group of admakers and media buyers who produced a swarm of commercials and placed them on television, radio and online, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission reports.
While the vast majority of that money was passed along to television stations and websites to pay for the advertising, millions in fees were kept by the companies, The Post calculated. While it is impossible to determine precisely how much the top consultants have earned, FEC filings indicate the top three media firms have reaped payments of seven figures.
Bernie Sanders blew through a whole lot of money and it went to all the predictable places. With no caps.
...unlike Clinton, he did not cap how much his consultants could earn in commissions...
WaPo tries to claim this was due to it being unexpected, but in politics, the profit motive is also the more plausible explanation.
That has meant big payouts for the firm of senior strategist Tad Devine, which has produced the bulk of the campaign’s ads; Old Towne Media, a small media placement operation run by two of Devine’s longtime buyers; and Revolution Messaging, a digital firm led by veterans of President Obama’s 2008 campaign.
And the money train still keeps rolling and rolling...
Sanders is still actively seeking donations, and he has said repeatedly that he plans to press on through the California primary in early June, an effort that could include more expensive advertising. “So long as we have a path toward victory, no matter how narrow it may be, we’ll pursue it,” the senator told The Post on Wednesday.
Sure. As long as the private jets are paid for and the campaign consultants are cashing in.
A campaign spokesman declined to comment on whether Sanders feels the high fees earned by his media consultants are appropriate.
But ask him about Wall Street bonuses and he'll work himself into a frothing fury.