Others say

Name the bundlers

A lengthening shadow of secrecy is falling across campaign finance in U.S. politics, and the mystery is not only about the organizations that accept hidden gifts. It is also about the middlemen, including the campaign “bundlers,” who play a vital role in aggregating donations.

In the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush disclosed the names of his bundlers, known as “Pioneers,” who raised at least $100,000. They brought in millions to his presidential campaigns, and the lists opened an important window on a corps of influential backers. Other campaigns in both parties since then have disclosed their bundlers, too, though there is a federal requirement to do so only for those who are registered congressional lobbyists. Mitt Romney in 2012 was an unfortunate exception.

Democrat Hillary Clinton is assembling bundlers known as “Hillstarters,” who will try to raise $27,000 each for the primary campaign. Although she has not announced her intentions, we hope and expect that she will volunteer to identify them with her filings to the Federal Election Commission as in the past. Republicans should do the same. We put the question to Jeb Bush, the Republican who has been on a fundraising blitz, and got no reply.

With the explosive growth of unlimited campaign fundraising in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, traditional bundlers may seem passé, especially in the GOP race. A candidate may have less need of a middleman to round up 10 or 100 checks when it is possible to get a single donor to give the same amount. The Washington Post’s Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger recently found that many of the bundlers on the Republican side are feeling like the Maytag repairman.

But just because the traditional role of bundlers seems quaint does not mean it should be ignored. The expansion of campaign finance vehicles like super PACs and nonprofit 501(c)4 groups gives rise to a host of possibilities for hidden bundlers. In general, unless they are congressional lobbyists, their identity will not have to be disclosed. We call upon every candidate to identify bundlers of any kind voluntarily and provide information such as occupation, employer and amounts raised. At a time when the court has approved unlimited giving and when dark money is flowing in ever greater amounts, voters deserve to know who is corralling cash for whom.

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