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| Home Front: Politix |
| The Rise of the Political Donor Class |
| 2008-08-27 |
| As congressional elections become more and more expensive, a handful of wealthy ZIP codes are increasingly picking up the tab. As of this writing, the 2008 congressional candidates have already raised close to $1 billion for their campaigns (about $700 million in the House and $300 million in the Senate). By November's election, that total could top $2 billion. It's a lot of money, and given the geographical distribution of wealth in America, an oddity emerges: many candidates who represent places in the United States without much disposable income raise the millions necessary to run for office these days. Increasingly, theyÂ’re not bothering to ask the folks whom they are actually paid to represent for campaign cash. Instead, they are flocking to a handful of super-wealthy ZIP codes in places like Hollywood; the Upper East Side of Manhattan; Greenwich, Conn.; and suburban Washington, D.C. - the "political ATM's" of the campaign trial. While one can find occasional media coverage of these kinds of high-dollar fundraisers, a recent study by three political scientists is the first to document the extent to which congressional candidates of both parties now depend on out-of-district donors to help them finance their campaigns. According to an analysis by University of Maryland political science professors James G. Gimpel and Frances E. Lee and graduate student Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, as of 2004, more than 2 out of 3 U.S. House campaign contributions (70.2 percent) came from somewhere outside the district. ThatÂ’s a steady increase from 54.5 percent in 1996 and 63 percent in 2000. RTWT. Via Instapundit.com |
| Posted by:ed |
| #5 I believe Grandstand Eddie's (my mother's congressman) address "in the district" is his bedroom at his mother's house in Malden. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-27 11:12 |
| #4 One of the worst at this has always been Ted Kennedy, who raises much of his money from out of Massachusetts. Another Mass. pol, Ed Markey, is a de facto resident of DC. I'm sure there are many other, this is nothing new. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2008-08-27 10:41 |
| #3 Increasingly, they're not bothering to ask the folks whom they are actually paid to represent for campaign cash. Actually they are - therein lies the problem. They are asking the people who they will actually represent (instead of their actual district). |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-08-27 08:50 |
| #2 For the large donors, political favors are bought cheap even with a 1000% surcharge. Better if only citizens donations are limited to only $100-200 per election season. Then Joe Sixpack and Joannie Walmart's dollars have a chance to match that of a Soros or Tereza Heinz-Kerry. Much closer to the One Man, One Vote ideal than the Donating For Dollars system we have now. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-08-27 08:43 |
| #1 The Donks like taxes right? So contributions of over, say, 10,000 dollars to an individual or committee/front [profit or non-profit], singularly or in combination, during the period of time of one year from the election day carries with it a 100% matching federal tax. You want to buy it, then you pay for it as well. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-27 08:15 |