Mountaire Corp. Owner Argues Influence of Rich Donors on Politics

Politico recently ranked the top 100 donors to political campaigns in 2014 and an Arkansan made the list. 

At No. 13 was Ronnie Cameron, owner of Mountaire Corp., who donated $4.2 million between his company and personal checkbooks. The donations were made to U.S. Sens.-elect Tom Cotton and Joni Ernst, in addition to $1.3 million to the Republican Governors Association and $2 million to Freedom Partners Action Fund, a Koch brothers operation. 

The Politico analysis found the top 100 donors gave $323 million, compared to $356 million by about 4.75 million people that gave $200 or less. Cameron argued that the influence from the rich isn’t greater these days.

“I doubt the amount of influence is any more concentrated in the hand of a few than it was in the 1950s or 1960s,” he told Politico.

He added, “There have always been wealthy individuals that had influence. Our country was founded by the wealthy landowners having the authority and representing all the people.”

Here’s more from the article:

Faulting Politico for omitting contributions from labor unions, which lean left, in its analysis (though it also omitted contributions from most major corporations, which tend to lean right), Cameron asserted that wealthy conservative donors — even at their most potent — would only offset the liberal tendencies of influential institutions. “Between Hollywood, the media and the unions, their huge influence by a relative few has long exceeded the influence paid for by people able and willing to give personal money to deliver a message.” 

Cameron was also busy in the Arkansas political scene, donating $76,750 in 2014, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State website.