I am talking about Mayor Pete Buttigieg (buːtədʒədʒ, hereafter Pete B, because I am lazy).
I do not believe that big donors change a politicians ideology or agenda in any significant way.
Rather, I believe that big donors are a REFLECTION of that candidate’s ideology and agenda.
I am aware of Jesse Unruh’s dictum, “If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them, you have no business being up here,” but who is donating and how they are donating, says a lot about who they are.
This is why I am so concerned about reports that Pete B has a major donor/bundler who is Goldman-Sachs lobbyist Steve Elmendorf:
If you read the attached article, you will find that a lot of his money is coming from hedge fund types (also a lot from the entertainment industry, which also concerns me because of their desire for draconian IP legislation).
I’d vote for a syphilitic sea lion* over Donald Trump in the primary, but I have a sawbuck for the primary candidate who convinces me.