The real answer is AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union’s president, Gerald McEntee, reports proudly that AFSCME will be contributing $87.5 million in this cycle, entirely or almost entirely to Democrats. “We’re spending big,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “And we’re damn happy it’s big.”

The mainstream press hasn’t shown much interest in reporting on unions’ campaign spending, which amounted to some $400 million in the 2008 cycle. And it hasn’t seen fit to run long investigative stories on why public employee unions — the large majority of which work for state and local governments — contribute so much more to campaigns for federal office.