Now that the West Virginia primary is behind us, I can’t help but reflect on the constant drumbeat from certain circles that bemoans the role of money in politics. The truth is, money is the life blood of political campaigns and the reason for that is obvious. Voters demand it.

At this point in history voters require candidates to spend significant amounts of money to communicate with them in order to get their vote. Statistics bear this out. According to Bob Biersack, writing for the Center for Responsive Politics on their website opensecrets.org, for the 10 year period from 2000 to 2010, in congressional races, in the House of Representatives the bigger spender won 93% of the time. In the Senate it was 83%.

While there are certainly other factors at play in political contests that determine the winner beside money, it is probably the single most important factor. Candidates can’t be faulted for trying to raise as much money as possible. They want to win. Until voters start electing the candidate that spends the least and that becomes the norm, expect that trend to continue.

On his website, Bernie Sanders says one of his goals is “getting big money out of politics and restoring Democracy”. So where does the “big money” come from in American politics? In Forbes’ most recent list: The Biggest, Most Influential Political Donors On the 2015 Forbes 400, Warren Buffet, a progressive, tops the list. Charles and David Koch tied for second, followed closely by Michael Bloomberg and George Soros who are both progressives.

The list notes that Buffett, the world’s third richest person, is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton and gives boatloads of money to Planned Parenthood and a gun control group. Soros was a big supporter of Barack Obama and Bloomberg is well known for his support of gun control and other “progressive” causes.

Bernie Sanders, has said that his campaign is about taking political clout from what he calls “the billionaire class”. However, CBS recently asked Sanders if there are any billionaires he likes — to which he responded: Bill Gates - the world’s richest man. What a surprise. Not. Said Bernie, “he’s trying to make the world a better place” and described him as a “great billionaire”. Right.

Although billionaire Warren Buffet supports Clinton, in an interview on CNBC he had some nice things to about her opponent Bernie Sanders. Said CNBC “he [Buffet] agrees with Sanders in certain areas, including the influence of money in politics, as well as income inequality”. So, the man who tops the Forbes list of the most influential political donors, Warren Buffet, says he agrees with (sometime) billionaire bashing Bernie regarding the influence of money in politics. Words fail me.

The Sanders campaign has intensified interest with regard to who are the billionaires and where they live. One list showed that California was in first place with 124 billionaires with a combined net worth of more than half a trillion dollars. New York is second with 93. There are 7 states that don’t have any billionaires at all.

The “Bernie effect” has also led to the publishing of a list of the richest person each of the 50 states. According to one list, David Koch is the richest man in New York, according to another its Michael Bloomberg. According to Wikipedia, Bloomberg’s net worth is approximately $44.7 Billion while David Koch is worth $44.3 Billion. The difference between the two would fully fund the West Virginia state budget deficit - and then some.

To put it into further perspective, according to the West Virginia Alliance for Sustainable Families, the median net worth of households in our state is slightly over $57,000. The median is not the average, I tried in vain to find that statistic but couldn’t, but if it were the average, then the entire net worth of all families, all 789,000 of them combined would come to slightly more than the net worth of Michael Bloomberg or David Koch. Take your pick. I suspect that if you subtracted the net worth of the richest family in West Virginia that might be the case. The combined net worth of Michael Bloomberg and David Koch is certainly greater than the entire net worth of all West Virginia households combined.

In my opinion, the big money that has had the most influence in West Virginia politics in recent years, over the last several legislative sessions has come from Michael Bloomberg. Whether it’s the war on coal, taxes on soda and/or tobacco or legislation aimed at infringing upon our second amendment rights, Bloomberg has been there to pour millions of dollars into initiatives that align with his agenda for our state. And Governor Tomblin has adhered faithfully to the Bloomberg playbook, vetoing pro-second amendment legislation and proposing tax increases on tobacco products.

Everyone remembers the ban on large sodas implemented by Bloomberg in New York City. The ban was later struck down in court. Three years ago in West Virginia a Bloomberg inspired soda tax bill was introduced in the legislature. Allegedly the purpose of the tax was to fight obesity in West Virginia. And as CS Lewis reminds us, “a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive,” because “those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end.”

Ironically, Warren Buffet has been under attack recently because his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway owns a lot of shares of Coca Cola and has for a long time. Buffet, who is 85, is reputed to drink 5 cherry cokes daily. I guess progressive billionaires get on each other’s nerves every once in a while. For his part, Buffet is not amused. At a recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting he asserted that “I make a choice to get 700 calories from Coke, I like fudge a lot, too, and peanut brittle and I am a very happy guy.” Billionaires don’t give much shrift to the nanny state - not even progressive billionaires. Except for Michael Bloomberg.

Back here in West Virginia we have only one billionaire. His name is Jim Justice and he also doubles as West Virginia’s richest man. And he’s running for governor. Oh, and he’s a Democrat. And did I mention that he made his money from coal? Wait until Michael Bloomberg finds out about this!