, Columnist
Democrats Are Too Affluent to Be Socialists
Not only is the professional class voting Democratic, it’s also funding the party.
Part of the party but not driving it.
Photographer: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
On Sept. 27, 2012, the Democratic fundraising website ActBlue hit a landmark. It announced it had raised $300 million since it started in 2004. A sleek digital engine that could raise $300 million in eight years — with zero time or effort invested by candidates — represented a new kind of fundraising marvel.
In the month of August 2020, ActBlue raised $485 million. In the 12 hours after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was announced on Sept. 18, the site raised more than $30 million. The numbers for the full month of September may well be gobsmacking.