Jay Gould Quotes
It was the custom when men received nominations to come to me for contributions, and I made them and considered them good paying investments for the company. In a Republican district I was a strong Republican; in a Democratic district I was Democratic, and in doubtful districts I was doubtful. In politics I was an Erie Railroad man all the time.
New York State Assembly. Report of the Select Committee Appointed by the Assembly of 1872 to Investigate the Affairs of the Erie Railway Company. Weed, Parsons and Company, 1873.
Colbert actually formed his own Super PAC and funded it with his own money.
That Congress had passed less legislation than any other in modern history. Hyperpolarization and a strategy of the Republicans who held the House but not the Senate of the Presidency together with more Republican filibusters in the last 6 years than in all of American History together.
See {640687}. He was then very worried about the influence of money in politics and was willing to risk his own reelection by limiting his contributions. And he was the Republican presidential candidate so his policy was particularly unusual. A century later money in politics had ballooned to a much larger problem as Taft’s action had little or no effect on the overall relationship between money and politics outside of his campaign.
Politicians and large political donors supporting the private campaign donation process tend to argue that businesses make contributions for patriotic and good government reasons and not as investments, but when business executives are asked by shareholders why they spend so much company money for campaign contributions, the inevitably respond that investing in campaign contributions provide a better return than most other investments. If they were so interested in good government they might spend more money on voter education.
Jason Gould was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the Robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him one of the wealthiest men of the late nineteenth century. Gould was an unpopular figure during his life and remains controversial.
