I've been doing it every day. Stop2End. Stop sending me text messages from my favorite politicians begging for money. Dear Susan, they begin as if they know you (except the ones I get regularly for someone named Virginia who lives in Georgia and must have had a similar number in another life). The system is not flawless. It just seems that way when you're trying to beat it. No matter how many times I tell it to stop, no matter my resolve not to give to anyone who texts me, they keep on coming. The digital marketing campaign. Does it work? It must. What else can you do when you're up against Elon Musk?

The spending in the midterms is literally beyond words. How much is our democracy for sale for? How many ads will it buy? Money doesn't always win, but if one side is vastly outspending the other, it makes a difference. So the argument goes for the unlimited arms race between the two parties for money. Distasteful as you may find it, you can't beat a horse with no horse. It takes money. It is out of control.

The service that tracks ad spending has tallied over $11.21 billion in total political ad spending and reservations in the 2025-26 election cycle. That's more than was spent on the last election cycle, which included a presidential contest.

Where does all that money come from?

And what does it buy?

We put our democracy up for sale, and we're surprised at the corruption, which is the inevitable result.

Elon Musk alone has poured somewhere in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars into the midterms. As of mid-October, he had contributed more than $445 million to federal committees alone. Musk's money could "single-handedly" alter the course of the midterms, said Brendan Glavin, who oversees research at the nonprofit OpenSecrets. The group tracks political spending. So much for democracy.

Are all these corporations and masters of the universe throwing their money away when they spend on politics? Of course not. They didn't get this rich by being stupid. It's an investment in the future that will pay dividends. It's a reflection of power, and how it's wielded.

Is there any way to stop it? Short of a new Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment to overrule Citizens United, the answer has to be political. On that front, I am cautiously optimistic.

Corruption in the Trump administration is showing up as an increasingly significant issue heading into the midterms, which tells you that a Democratic Congress will try to run with it when they take over. And you can't be serious about taking on the corruption in the administration without following the money and seeing where it leads. To influence, is my guess. To access with an agenda.

Will the Democrats take on the issue, or will they resign themselves to their own version of the game, trading the new majority's integrity for lobbyists' gifts?

Meanwhile, Musk keeps trying to buy the Texas Senate seat. It's turned out to be expensive, perhaps more than planned. The Democrat has broken fundraising records, but even so, in the final four weeks of the Texas Senate campaign, Democrats have been outspent by Republicans on ads by more than 2 to 1, $118.9 million to $54.7 million, according to AdImpact data. That's Musk money, running negative ads. What does Musk want? What is he getting? Power is the most obvious answer. We should be terrified.

To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: James A. Molnar at Unsplash