STORY OF THE WEEK: “Money, it’s a gas,” goes the song by Pink Floyd. “Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.” The tune encompasses the central quality of money in politics. Just consider how about 300 people traveled to Ochre Court in Newport last Thursday to give $1,000 (or more, up to $25,000) to the Harris-Walz campaign. A selfie with Tim Walz went for $10,000, and Democrats were delighted with the haul. All told, the event brought in more than $600,000 – about half the amount raised during a similar event in Boston – helping to fuel campaign efforts in the handful of battleground states that will decide the November election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Between their own fundraising and outside support, the two campaigns have each brought in close to $500 million. The 2024 election is bound to be the most expensive ever – just as the $14.4 billion spent in 2020 was more than twice the record-breaking amount expended in 2016. To some, this colossal spending represents misplaced priorities and a squander of money better spent elsewhere, while others view it just as the way the game is played. (Diminishing the role of money in politics got harder due to a series of court decisions, including Citizens United in 2010.) Regardless, not everyone has the ability to give $1,000 (or much more) to a campaign – and that shows how affluent people and special interests have the ear of politicians in a way that RPs (regular people) can not. “There’s something to be said for that,” House Speaker Joe Shekarchi told me in an interview a day before the Walz fundraiser in Newport. At the same time, the Harris campaign had to move quickly to build its fundraising, Shekarchi said, and the many small-dollar contributions show how people need not be wealthy to play a part. “If you’re a Democrat and you want to see the Democratic Party remain in control of the White House, and possibly the Congress, you understand you’re fighting a Republican machine and you need resources to do it,” he said. Like many politicians, Shekarchi – who is sitting on almost $3 million in campaign funds – said fundraising “is not my favorite thing to do, but you have to raise money to be competitive.”

WASHINGTON BRIDGE: The day of accountability promised by Gov. Dan McKee in March, or at least a move in that direction, arrived when Attorney General Peter Neronha outlined Friday a lawsuit against 13 companies that worked on the Washington Bridge. According to the 44-page lawsuit filed by Neronha and two outside lawyers hired by the governor, a series of failures over many years resulted in the need to close the bride on an emergency basis last December. Neronha said the “lawsuit seeks to hold accountable those responsible and recover the maximum amount possible for the State. Litigation is a long road and today marks the first step on that road. We are committed to working with our partners to secure as much relief for the state as we can.”

CHEAPSKATES: At the other end of the spectrum from pols like Joe Shekarchi and Gina Raimondo who prioritize fundraising, are hopefuls with meager campaign accounts. Back in 2000, for example, Kevin McAllister thought being Cranston City Council president and knowing a lot of people gave him a shot in the open Democratic primary in CD2. He finished fourth in the four-way race. A number of candidates have run for Congress and other offices since then, while trying to ignore the iron importance of money in politics. The only counter-example came when the late Robert “Cool Moose” Healey got more than 20% of the vote in the 2014 race for governor – not enough to win, but sufficient to be a factor – while barely spending any coin. Still, it’s worth remembering that Healey built his name recognition through memorable schtick and a series of previous runs for office.

THE MESSAGE: During his 17-minute speech in Newport, Tim Walz focused on sketching a contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Walz basically argued that Harris leads with joy and optimism while Trump is about negativity and instilling fear. The Trump campaign contends he offers the best path for prosperity and that Harris is an uber-leftist – “Comrade Kamala,” as the Republican ticket called her in a news release Friday. This is the dueling message of the 2024 presidential campaign, writ small, with 81 days until the Nov. 5 election. Harris has gained in polling since she emerged as the nominee, with a small lead in some key battleground states. The question now is, where does the race go from here? Trump’s campaign includes Chris LaCivita, who launched the damaging “Swift Boat” attack against John Kerry in 2004. Will the Harris team succeed in repelling such tactics? Has Trump accumulated too much baggage? Or will the former president be able to ride voters’ concerns about inflation and immigration back to the White House?

RI SENATE: Sen. Dawn Euer (D-Newport) is keeping her powder dry, sticking to boilerplate about focusing on the present, when asked whether she hopes to climb higher in the Senate or to run for attorney general in 2026. Of course, what happens with the former could have something to do with the latter.

CITY HAUL: Katie Castellani from PBN unpacks what the possible loss of Macy’s could mean for Providence Place. In terms of the mall’s viability as a retail destination, she said, “That’s a good question. I think that really depends on how well the mall can evolve. I think that’s kind of been a topic. A lot of reporting around malls in general has been about how are they going to evolve, especially since the pandemic as people have shifted away from in store retail to buying things online. So malls have really had to get creative with what they want to do. And I think Brookfield, the owners of the mall, seem to be open to that. In previous years, they’ve said that they want to add residential units. They want to kind of turn it into a lifestyle hub. That’s something that a lot of models seem to be leaning towards. So I think Macy’s closing will – if it closes at the Providence Mall – will put it to a test for how well it can evolve in this changing retail landscape.”ON THE LEFT: Daniel Denvir has emerged as a leading leftist podcaster since moving to Rhode Island in 2015. A profile in the Guardian asked whether he is the socialist version of Terry Gross.

THE GOP: The Rhode Island Republican Party is welcoming Aidan Carey as its new executive director. Via release: “Aidan, a 2020 graduate of LaSalle Academy and a 2024 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross with a bachelor of arts in philosophy and political science, focusing on political philosophy and theory, brings a wealth of energy, dedication, and fresh perspectives to the party.”

KICKER: When Torey Malatia emerged as the new CEO of what we now call The Public’s Radio in 2015, we were pumped. The guy is a legend in public radio and Ira Glass still works Torey’s name into the closing part of This American Life each week. Torey deserves the thanks of public radio listeners in southern New England for a lot of reasons, not least being how he spearheaded the acquisition of a signal that carries our airwaves through virtually all of Rhode Island and a big swath of southeastern Massachusetts. Our new CEO, Pam Johnston, starts on the job next week, and Torey is heading to retirement, so we wish him well.