Reply #9: They THINK they have to run expensive campaigns [View All]

[Lydia Leftcoast]

but what they really need is VOTES.

If they can get the votes by methods other than buying TV time, they can free themselves from the Big Boys.

For example, I don't know whether Oregon's Peter DeFazio accepts corporate money or not, but one thing that endears him to left-leaning Oregonians is that he holds $30 pizza and beer fundraisers. I attended a few, even though I never lived in his district, and they were always PACKED, yet it was not hard to get to talk to DeFazio.

To win the votes of the very poor, what about $5 coffee and cookie fundraisers with a chance to share your concerns with the candidate? If the candidate can get people to pay any amount of money at all to meet him/her, s/he is almost assured of their vote.

Of course, this works better for smaller elections, but the principle is important: In the end, money is just a means of gaining votes, and it is possible to gain votes by other means, such as developing a reputation for being accessible and available.