I agree with your basic premise that campaign spending buys influence not votes. However, there is a small exception to that, namely that all the billions being raised are going to advertising in a small number of swing states.
Living in New York as I do, I will never see the ads; never get a door-to-door canvass, never really have my vote matter. My money would matter, but it would go to funding scorched earth efforts in maybe five states. No thanks!
Re: Swing State Spending
driven
6/11/2012 10:28:40 AM
During the last presidential election I made a $10 contribution to the Obama campaign simply because I was curious about the use of social media and wanted to get the text alerts, etc. Well, four years later I am still trying to purge my name from the mailing lists. Once a donor, you are always viewed as a sucker.
Re: Swing State Spending
Ed Leefeldt
6/11/2012 10:39:52 AM
I agree. Once on a mailing list - anybody's mailing list - you never escape. Often your name and address are "regifted" to everyone else in the same business. Charities are frequent offenders.
Re: Swing State Spending
Ed Leefeldt
6/11/2012 10:41:32 AM
Blame the electoral college for that one. Politicians talk about getting rid of this anachronism, but it never happens, because it allows them to get the most bang for their economic buck.
Re: Swing State Spending
AskAsa
6/11/2012 10:44:42 AM
They call them sucker lists for a reason, don't they?
Re: Swing State Spending
AskAsa
6/11/2012 10:45:58 AM
The other thing that's annoying is that political groups are exempt from a lot of consumer laws, like robocalls and provisions of the do not call lists.,
Re: Swing State Spending
Dex
6/11/2012 10:54:34 AM
I never understood why political groups got a pass on the do not call list. They are the ones I want to hear from the least.
I always found the Electoral college to be a mystery.... until Bush v. Gore in 2000.
Remember that Circus? There will be close elections again. Just like 2000, one state or even a fraction of a state will be under a microscope.
And this local fiasco is so much better than nationwide chaos.
PC
The more I learned about the Electoral college the more depressed I felt about our alleged democracy. (ok democratic republic...)
Re: Electoral College
Ed Leefeldt
6/11/2012 11:07:11 AM
Perhaps someone can explain the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision, that makes the Super PACs all powerful and makes money even more powerful than votes. Influential groups like the NRA pushed for this.
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