There's a significant asymmetry in US electoral politics. Political parties compete to assemble a majority coalition of votes, but they also compete for money, which not only influences votes but to some extent is necessary even to establish a candidacy. While votes are, in principle at least, equally distributed, money is not. This means that both parties have to curry favor with the rich, regardless of the interests of their prospective voter coalition. This presents fundamentally different problems for the Republican and Democratic parties.

The Republicans blatantly favor the interests of the rich, which has long given them a substantial advantage in raising money. Their problem is that the rich are a tiny minority in America, one that they have to opportunistically broaden to win elections. The money certainly helps. The Republicans have put together a very efficient propaganda machine, especially adept at exploiting non-economic issues that do not significantly detract from the party's sponsors. Their success is a remarkable story, especially in how they've used thin vote margins to promote their extreme ideological agenda.

The Democrats, on the other hand, are torn between the two pillars of American politics. Their voting base is working class, but they have to balance their voter appeal off against their funder appeals. For numerous reasons, the latter predominate. The result is that it is impossible for them to promote a consistent populist platform. One casualty of this inconsistency has been voter turnout: because the Democrats deliver so little to the poor many poor voters don't see much point in politics. Needing to bridge between their funders and voters, Democrats emphasize moderation, reconciliation, a mixed society. One effect is wishy-washy messages. Another is overeagerness to compromise, even when the other side is clearly wrong.

In theory, you could eliminate fundraising from politics, thereby getting rid of the distorting effects of money (not to mention the flat out corruption), and restoring democracy -- the ideal that each vote is equal to any other vote. One reason this is hard to do is that the current system selects for politicians who are adept at raising money. Another reason is that the current system favors the rich by giving them about two parties vs. maybe one-half for the poor. The net effect is that nothing political can happen that runs against their interests.

That the Democrats are raising more money this year than the Republicans are reflects the fact that no matter how much they claim to support the rich, their extremist ideology and their corrupt implementation has actually done immeasurable harm. However, that only makes possible a very limited set of reforms -- much more limited than what is actually needed to move back toward the ideal of America as a land of democracy, equality, and opportunity.