In the 2000 election cycle, according to a Washington Post article reporting findings by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, about one-third of all pro-Democratic independent spending on TV was provided by one person: Jane Fonda.
Fonda gave $11 million that year to abortion-rights and conservation groups. This year, however, her political committee, Pro-Choice Vote, is inactive. In large part as a result, pro-Republican groups are outspending their Democratic counterparts about 3 to 1 (in 2000, their spending was roughly equal).
Why the precipitous drop in pro-Democratic spending this year (other than Fonda’s absence)? According to the WP article:
The recent stock market decline has clobbered the political left, which depends heavily on wealthy liberals with large portfolios and a history of giving to groups touting women’s rights, environmental initiatives and civil liberties.
