"Republicans Aim for $21.5M at Fund Raiser"

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush was offering the rough outlines of how he envisions a second term at a campaign fund-raiser expected to take in at least $21.5 million Wednesday night.

"The president will begin to touch more on some of the broad themes of his vision for the next four years," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. He refused to elaborate.

Politics was much on Bush's mind Wednesday. He visited his re-election campaign headquarters in suburban Virginia for the first time, shaking hands with dozens of staff members and then offering a private pep talk.

Members of Congress played a key role in the fund-raising effort. House committee chairmen were asked to raise at least $100,000 each, subcommittee chairmen $50,000 or more and rank-and-file members a minimum of $25,000, for example.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040721/D83V9MP00.html

[Eric J in MN]

1. $25,000 is a lot to let an individual give to a national party.

They should set the limit lower to reduce the undue influence of the rich.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Double-Edged Sword...

There are very quiet, private Democrat dinners that take place where checks of that size and more change hands. It's all legal and the way the game is played.

Yes, it'd be great to take the price tag out of electing public servants, but it's not going to happen as long as our government remains the largest employer in the nation and the people responsible for making those changes are the ones who benefit the most by the current system.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. We have voluntary clean elections here in Maine

I wish they were mandatory, but would need to do some serious retooling of constitutional language there. Still, it could happen one day.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Local Is A Great Idea...I Wish It'd Start There Here

I'll never forget when a friend attempting to run for state rep. A great guy as liberaterian as they come and naive as well. He tried to join the GOOP and soon found them sniffing in his pockets...how much money did he have, how much could he raise...could he raise money for other people and so on. Then he went through the "smell test"...who was he, who's his friends, what other groups does he belong to, is he one of us? He failed both. So he tried to run anyway. He couldn't get a word printed and barely a soundbite on the local news and had to combat the barage of mass mailings, yard signs and other party operations. He was steamrolled.

Unfortunately, creating a true fair electoral system, even on the most local level requires a discipline that both is counter to the process (human nature) and asks to be subverted (human nature, again). Look at the campaign reform laws that came in the wake of Watergate...the ones that McCain-Feingold were made to "fix". It wasn't that the original law was bad, just over time people found ways to abuse it...and the same will be for McCain-Feingold as well.

We live in a time where the concept of public service vs. self service has never been so out of whack. Why earn a paltry wage being a lowly teacher when you can make a lot more fixing real estate deals and bending laws that feather your nest.

Our best hope is for a solid system of checks and balances where even our most local politicians feel a big brother watching them...instead of them watching us.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Yep. As it stands now the clean elections here

allow us to elect a solid state legislature. 75% of them ran clean campaigns, one of them being the only Green currently serving at a state level. But the folks who run for governor or federal level offices will not opt for the voluntary clean campaigns in most cases. They still pay by the golden rule of "he who has the gold, rules".

We keep trying to get IRV or some other ranked voting instituted in our state, but so far no dice. The folks who count the ballots by hand are very much opposed to the extra work. I understand their feelings, but I disagree. Yes, we should have a simple system, but not at the expense of fairness.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Poor Dumbya..............

he's having to work awfully hard for these campaign donations. All this politicing, he must be getting very weary. I'll bet he could use a vacation right about now. Isn't August the month he usually spends at the pig farm in Crawford? Looks like he might have to work a little harder at this election thing than he thought. Daddy can't buy this one for him, he's going to have to earn it. Damn those Liberal bastards! Daring to challenge him in his re-(s)election bid!

[MidwestTransplant]

3. FOUR MORE WARS.....FOUR MORE WARS!