> Do it preferably in smaller sums so you can strong arm them multiple times before the next election.
Really, you want to have a steady stream of payments flowing from you to them. That way, they're accustomed to it, and you always have the implicit threat of suspending the payments. This basically mirrors the structure of an ordinary ongoing personal relationship.
One-time donations, which would reflect an ordinary commercial relationship, don't work well, since the thing that makes them work outside of politics -- conditioning payment on receipt of the good purchased -- is illegal in politics.
Really, you want to have a steady stream of payments flowing from you to them. That way, they're accustomed to it, and you always have the implicit threat of suspending the payments. This basically mirrors the structure of an ordinary ongoing personal relationship.
One-time donations, which would reflect an ordinary commercial relationship, don't work well, since the thing that makes them work outside of politics -- conditioning payment on receipt of the good purchased -- is illegal in politics.