Quora: What is dark money?
By Bradley A. Smith
There is no agreed upon definition of “dark money.” Hence it can be used as a pejorative term for any number of things that the person using it does not like.
For example, suppose you give money to the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club then spends some of its money to advocate for the defeat of a political candidate who opposes green energy subsidies. Are you a “dark money” donor? After all, your name will not be publicly disclosed.
Suppose that instead, the Sierra Club uses some its money to run ads urging voters to contact their senators to support green subsidies: Now are you a “dark money” donor? …
In the narrowest sense of the term, “dark money” usually means money spent by a group to promote the election or defeat of a candidate, where that group (like most non-profits and trade associations) does not publicly name all its members and donors. But what does it mean to promote the election or defeat of a candidate, or to use another term bandied out, what is “political spending?” Was the think tank’s spending money on a study that was critical of green energy subsidies “political spending?” If a group like, say, Common Cause, sends out a mailer urging people to demand an end to “dark money,” is that “political spending?” What if it doesn’t actually mention any candidates? What if does, but merely to note their position on a bill to reform campaign finance? …
So here’s the bottom line answer to your question: When somebody talks about “dark money,” they’re not trying to clarify or explain. They’re trying to make something normal sound sinister, something legal sound shady, something complex sound simple. It’s political rhetoric for any spending pertaining to public affairs and elections that the speaker doesn’t like. (Speakers who like the spending call it “donations” or “grassroots advocacy” or something like that).
