What's Trump's corruption got do with affordability?

Democrats in disarray (historical structural resources edition). In a Stateline story we're running today (see below), there's a line about Democratic-allied groups focused on state laws organizing across state lines in support of "specific areas of policy." I am most definitely not an expert on this, but the phrase caught my eye because it reminds me of a complaint I've heard over the years, on the left, about how the left is funded compared to how the right is funded.

Money on the left, goes the gripe, is often raised/granted for a specific issue — climate change, workers' rights, criminal justice reform, etc., or even a particular and pretty area-specific proposal — an oil drilling application on a U.S. forest tract, for instance. Meanwhile, money on the right is granted with fewer strings; funders point in the general direction of Democrats and the left, and tell the groups being funded "there they are, go get 'em."

That's a gross overgeneralization of course — some funders on the right might demand their money be spent only on, oh, promoting privatization of public education, and some funders on the left more or less entrust beneficiary organizations to prioritize issues as they see fit. But I'm guessing (to reiterate, this ain't my wheelhouse, just echoing stuff I've heard on occasion) it's generally folks on the left, not the right, who've lamented over the years how micro-managed funding parameters stifle broader movement cohesion and strength.

IN NEVADA CURRENT

Just goes to show how great he is, right? “While folks in Nevada and across the country struggle with the cost of basics like gas, groceries, and health care, 2025 was the most lucrative year of Trump’s life," observed the president of the venerable  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). He was one of the folks participating in a gathering of a few U.S. House Democrats who serve on the House Government Oversight Committee and joined by Nevada's House Democrats in Las Vegas. Jeniffer Solis reports: US House Dems at Las Vegas shadow hearing link Trump ‘corruption’ to affordability crisis

You can't bet on Kalshi’s court cases on Kalshi, which I mention only because I find it mildly amusing. Anyway, after a ruling Friday, there are more court cases ahead. Dana Gentry reports: Ninth Circuit win for Nevada over Kalshi sets up potential Supreme Court showdown

FEMA, or what's left of it, will be helping out, assuming the Trump regime heeds the request of Nevada's purported Trump whisperer. Busy Jen reports: Lombardo asks Trump for Hawk Fire emergency declaration

Democrats have had ALEC envy for decades. One of the organizers of one of the latest groups trying to galvanize state legislative Democrats into a more nationally cohesive force observes that "new progressive groups have often sprouted up with massive war chests focused on specific areas of policy," while the corporate right's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has built a strong base of support from Republican state legislators from coast to coast as well as the corporate/industrial sector. Via Stateline: Democrats aim to emulate Republicans in building state power

Good Luck