The Kentuckian

The KYP shall not keep private donor lists

by Geoff Young (contributor)

Article II (F), Bylaws of The Kentucky Party

The KYP shall maintain open records to the greatest extent possible.

  1. As technology changes, the KYP shall use it to grow more open, never less.
  2. The names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of all KYP state and local Executive Committee members shall be publicized on the KYP's website and elsewhere.
  3. All information and creative work produced by and for the KYP is released into the public domain to the fullest extent possible. [...]
  4. The KYP shall not keep private donor lists.

Picture of money spilling out of a safe

Article II, Section F.4 of the Bylaws of The Kentucky Party might look innocuous but I think it's really important: "The KYP shall not keep private donor lists."

I've been running for various offices since 2012. The two big parties keep lists of rich Democrat and Republican donors, their contact information, how much they've donated in every election, and what issues they care about.

If you're a candidate and the party insiders like you, they'll set up fundraisers for you and invite their biggest donors. If you're an outsider and they spit on the ground you walk on, neither party will give you any information at all. As George Carlin said, "It's a big club, and you ain't in it."

Kentucky Democratic Party and Republican Party of Kentucky insiders use donor lists to rig every primary they care about. That happens to be unethical and illegal. See KRS 118.105 Section (1). For the KYP to say it's not going to keep secret donor lists of rich people means the KYP is not going to rig its own primaries. That is huge.

You can't win elections without fundraising. In Article II, Section D.4-5, The KYP pledges to support leadership development and educate all interested candidates in how to run for office. In Article VI, Section C, The KYP pledges to hold pre-primary debates and invite all KYP candidates. No donor lists doesn't mean no support. It means less bad candidates "fail upward" in a corrupt political organization. That's a good thing!

This article, like all original content in The Kentuckian, is released into the public domain. The Kentuckian is an independent publication. It doesn't represent the opinion of the Kentucky Party or any of its committees.