[andrewla]

I'll try one more time -- how many people, that is, individual human beings, do you believe have this capacity and the desire to use it? Is that number, like, 5? Is it 50? Or, more likely, is it 50,000? Of those people, how many successfully do anything with this?

None of the pattern you describe is at all effective in a democracy unless you can get people to support your candidate or support your issues or whatever. You can't just buy that. There's no direct path to spending money to make people support you or believe in you or excuse your actions. There is no formula or process that works. All of this hinges on the individual, and I'm extremely unconvinced that personal wealth is an interesting axis. Where personal wealth intersects with power is another matter, but that powerful people can wield power is not an interesting or astute observation.