Midterms as Victory FOR Money in Politics

George Will cautions against "giddiness" in the wake of the midterms, concluding with a warning we should heed that the President is not well. The whole thing is worth a read, but Will fleshes out a point I merely noted in passing yesterday: that Elon Musk's waste of hundreds of millions in Texas political spending is a a great counterexample to the idea that we should limit political spending by individuals. (We set aside for the moment the fact that such bans should be opposed as violations of individual rights.):The importance of money in politics is more asserted and deplored than measured. In Texas, Elon Musk, the most overrated dabbler in U.S. politics, perhaps did something useful with his estimated $224 million money geyser for Republicans. He unintentionally demonstrated that there is a point at which the utility of political dollars not only declines steeply, but actually becomes negative. Senator-elect James Talarico prospered politically while saying, "Texas is not for…

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