While browsing through social media I've noticed recently that Beto O'Rourke's supporters seem to believe he doesn't get money from PACS. They got the idea after Beto suggested to Bill Maher on HBO's Realtime that he rejects PAC money.
This anti-PAC idea was a common talking point for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democrat primary, and Beto's supporters seem to have adopted it for the 2018 race against Ted Cruz.
Progressives and socialists believe PACs are evil and corrupt. They're the reason for all of Washington DC's problems, if you ask grassroots Leftists.
Okay, so you hate PACs. That's fine - I think they're confused about what a PAC actually is (a group of people pooling their money together to support a common interest), but since we're on the subject, I have a bombshell to drop on all you lefties.
Beto O'Rourke's campaign is, at least partially, funded by money from political action committees, aka PACs.
According to OpenSecrets Dot Org, a website that tracks how politicians get their campaign funding, Beto has received over $4000 in PAC money from AT&T and $1500 from Tenet Healthcare.
Similarly, he's received $150,384 through JStreetPAC - a nonprofit liberal advocacy group. JStreetPAC is literally a PAC, but it's important that we be mindful of the word "through" in the previous statement. JStreetPAC is collecting money from individuals and giving it to Beto. This is a completely technical statement because Beto isn't getting money from the PAC, he's getting it through the PAC, which is just a fancy way of saying he's still supported by PACs while vaguely distancing himself from them.
And while we're on the subject, Beto has also received $38,169 in "individual donations" from Democracy Engine, a group who describes themselves as an "online donation processing platform to handle fundraising for candidates at all level of US elections as well as political committees and nonprofits."
The group claims they're non-partisan, but a quick glance at their list of past supported candidates reveals they're about 99% Democrats. While Democracy Engine might not technically be a "PAC", they sure do act like one.
Meanwhile, it's possible Beto might be getting even more PAC money because campaigns are not technically required to report the previous quarter's numbers until 2 weeks after the end of the quarter. So Open Secrets might be using numbers that reflect April to June numbers, but not July to today (the site doesn't say how up to date their data is).
So, yes, Beto is definitely benefiting from his relationship with PACs. More than one, in fact, and there's nothing wrong with that. A PAC is nothing more than a group of individuals who are pooling their money. The process isn't as evil and corrupt as the socialists would like you to believe.
Even still, Politifact has an article published on their site that claims Beto isn't getting money from PACs at all. Maybe someone needs to start a website to fact check Politifact? This isn't the first time they were caught regurgitating false information.
TORNILLO, TX - JUNE 23: Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) arrives for a tour with other politicans of the tent encampment recently built near the Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry on June 23, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas. A tent facility was recently built next to the Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry to house immigrant children separated from their parents after they were caught entering the U.S. under the administration's 'zero tolerance policy. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)