Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade (and part of the Chicago Cubs ownership) is donating lots and lots of money this campaign season through his super PAC.
He recently spent $200,000 on an ad to defend U.S. Senate candidate Deb Fischer (R-Neb) against an attack ad by her opponent Bob Kerrey. This brings Ricketts’ total to almost $700,000 in this race. And the Nebraska Senate race is small potatoes compared to what Ricketts has spent on the Presidential race – almost $10 million, with likely more to come.
I’ll try my best to leave politics out of this post – Ricketts earned his millions and can spend them any way he damn well pleases. If he wants to try to impact/influence/purchase an election, that is his right under the current set of super PAC rules, as enacted by the Supreme Court. Maybe Ricketts really like Deb Fischer. Maybe he believes it is an investment – that he’ll make all of that money back with Fischer and/or Romney in office. Who knows? That’s not how I’d chose to spend $10 million dollars, but again, it’s not my money to spend.
And don’t go thinking this is some partisan rant against big spending Republicans. You better believe that there is somebody on the other side spending the same amount of money to get Kerrey elected and reelect President Obama.
But the reason I bring this up is the sick, twisted punchline that is ripe for the picking. Joe Ricketts’ super PAC has a name that is painfully ironic considering everything above:
Seriously.
I couldn’t make that up if I tried.
Feit Can Write 