The man pictured here is Rep. John Delaney (D-Maryland). He is a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.Don't feel bad if you didn't know that. It seems as if no one else does either. Delaney was one of the first candidates to declare, but most people outside of his home state have still never heard of him. He has yet to top 1% support in any poll, and most polls show him with less support than that.
Those numbers will not get him a position on the debate stage next June. But there are two ways to get on the stage -- show support in the polls, or get a minimum of 65,000 people to donate to your campaign. So far, he has not accomplished either task.
But Delaney is the richest of the Democratic candidates (with a net worth of over $95 million). So he has come up with a scheme to gather 65,000 donors. He is offering to donate $2 to a charity of a donor's choice for every $1 they donate to his campaign.
He told MSNBC news that he's not buying donations, since the money goes to a charity (and not the donor). I'm not so sure. It still smacks of buying support (and reminds me of political corruption of the past when votes were paid for).
I hope he fails in this effort. I'm tired of the rich trying to buy their way into political office -- any office.
He is also using some of his money to run some political ads on TV in early states, but they don't seem to be working. In them, he touts his bi-partisanship, and his ability to work with the Republicans. That makes me think he's not very bright. That's not what most Democrats want to hear after years of Republicans refusing to compromise on anything. Democrats are looking for a candidate to fight for them -- not make nice with the likes of McConnell and his cohorts.
