How can a candidate be bought for $2300?

[penguin7]

Is a candidate really going to change their position for $2300 which is the maximum allowable contribution?

Apparently everything is on the up and up. I can sleep better tonight.

[angstlessk]

1. No it is the PAC money...bundled from corporations 'employees'

that buys candidates (See boosh rangers)

[Totally Committed]

3. This is true, it's the "bundled" corporate "donations" that can change minds...

But, it's also the free use of the corporporate jet, and other corporate "freebies. Then there are the corporate "fundraisers". (i.e. When Rupert Murdoch throws a fundraiser for a Democrat, I defy ANYONE to tell me no quid pro quo will be expected.)

There are lots of ways around that little $2300 limit. Trust me.

TC

[Ian David]

2. Rick Santorum got bought for only $2,000. He's a cheap date.

Santorum's Weather-Related Bill Criticized

Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data.

The disclosure has renewed criticism of the measure, which Santorum, R-Pa., maintains would allow the weather service to better focus on its core mission of getting threatening weather info out in a "timely and speedy basis."

Opponents say the bill would endanger the public by preventing the dissemination of certain weather data, and force taxpayers to pay for the data twice. The bill would prevent the weather service from competing for certain services offered by the private sector.

AccuWeather, based in State College, Pa., provides weather data to a variety of outlets, including media organizations such as The Associated Press.

"I think the timing of it is what makes it so suspect," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, a Democratic-leaning watchdog group. "It's like here's the money and you're going to do what I want."

Santorum said the $2,000 contribution, received from AccuWeather CEO Joel Myers on April 12, came during a fundraiser in State College that happened to be two days before the bill was filed. He said he has worked on the issue for three years.

More:
http://mysite.verizon.net/lardil/id310.html

[Warpy]

4. Bundling

is what corporations call it when they make 500 of those $2000 contributions, signed off by 500 of their loyal employees, to total a million bucks from one originating company. Trust me, the candidates notice the efficiency of corporate collection systems that result in million dollar donations.

That's the scam, and that's how these guys get bought and stay bought.

Plus, hefty donations can be made to the political party, itself, and to all its favorite PACs.

[welshTerrier2]

5. it goes so much deeper than just contributions

we have all sorts of problems with our democracy.

we have a revolving door between business and government. you need look no farther than cheney's Halliburton ties.

we have totally inequitable access to our elected officials. they hear from "paid corporate staff" every single day. they hear from you and I once in a while via email or phone call. when the big boys call, they get in. when you call, you often have a chance to "leave a message after the beep." big difference there.

listen to Eisenhower's famous warning about the military-industrial complex if you have any doubts about how industry controls the government.

read Chalmers Johnson's "The Sorrows of Empire" or John Perkins' "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" and you'll have a great understanding of just who are the puppetmasters and who are the puppets.

the myth of little people like you and me squirreling away our little campaign nest eggs to help the good guys is sadly not the way it works in the real world. and btw, as if all that's not bad enough, take a look at the won/loss records of incumbent candidates. most "elections" are over way before they even begin. most races are not competitive and some candidates don't even have opposition. some of that's due to contributions; some of it's due to media access' and some of it is due to the highly undemocratic process of gerrymandering. talk about abuse of power.

it's a mess; we should lop off the heads of those who contribute to the undemocratic madness; we remain mostly asleep.

[kestrel91316]

6. Hey, I've been accused of being bought and paid for by

Big Pharma and the pet food industry for the grand sum of a couple of note pads and a sample pack of flea control product.

$2300 ought to buy A LOT!!!!

[slampoet]

7. I was going to post but you all explained it better than i could.

[Forkboy]

8. For $2300 I'll blow Cheney during prime time.

Ok...I kid.

It could be anytime during the day.

[razors edge]

9. You'll need these.

[Forkboy]

10. LOL

That's harsh.

Funny as Hell,but harsh. :spank:

:)

[MGKrebs]

11. Pretty good story about this in the Washington Post the other day:

...Hall -- now a prominent political scientist at the University of Michigan who has studied the role that money plays in politics -- is a perfect illustration of the real effect of campaign contributions and lobbying. Campaign contributions and lobbyists do not buy politicians' opinions as much as they buy their priorities.

This explains why the vast majority of campaign contributions from special interest groups go to politicians who already agree with the groups making the donations -- antiabortion groups, for example, give nearly all their money to Republicans and abortion rights groups give nearly all their money to Democrats. If such donations were meant to be bribes, wouldn't these groups give money to candidates and politicians who were on the fence or on the other side? Why do you need to bribe people who agree with you?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/AR2007071501037.html

I think we tend to paint with too broad a brush when we condemn PAC's. We have PAC's too. Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, unions. In fact, 11 of the top 20 PAC's are lefty.

The thing is, politicians can't represent 400,000 different viewpoints, or even try to, so they pay attention to the ones who are ORGANIZED. And organizing usually takes money. I think we on the left tend to express our displeasure with the money in politics by not spending much, but that amounts to just ceding the field to those who will spend. Until we can change it, we need to try to help those who are working for us.