TV spots pay off in Ryan, Hull Senate bids

[Freddie Stubbs]

By John Chase
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 23, 2004

In a testament to the power of money in politics, multimillionaire Democrat Blair Hull and wealthy Republican Jack Ryan have surged ahead of rivals in their U.S. Senate campaigns by bankrolling big television ad blitzes, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

But the survey also indicates the races for the Republican and Democratic nominations in the March 16 primary are far from over, with large numbers of likely voters in both parties yet to decide whom to support in the battle to replace retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.

A Tribune/WGN-TV poll last month showed no clear leader in either party race. Since then, however, Hull and Ryan have capitalized on their superior financial resources to saturate the Chicago television market with ads.

As a result, support for the two has grown among likely primary voters, and many of their opponents, who have run more modest advertising efforts, have lost ground.

more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0402230192feb23,1,5202338.story

[Odallas]

1. More Proof

Money (wealth) is the most determinant factor in our political system. No wealth, no voice.

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Not necessarily

Just ask Al Checchi, who spent an unprecendented $38 million in the California gubenatorial primary to deafeat Gray Davis, who only had $8 million.

[Doomsayer13]

3. a natural result of McCain Feingold

McCain-Feingold campaign finance put the political system in a position where money is still necessary to run an effective campaign but it's ever harder to raise this money. Unless one has deep connections in the state and the establishment, the Senate and congress wil gravitate towards being a millionaire's club where people like Ryan and Hull can outspend their opponents 3 to 1. I'm not saying McCain-Feingold was a bad thing, the system prior was pretty much legalized bribery and slander, but I think this will be one of the unseen side affects of the campaign finance bill.