Don’t Call It a Stimulus: 2012 Election Spending Likely To Top $8B

[CountAllVotes]

The road to the White House is paved with dollar bills... billions of them. The work begins tonight as President Obama kicks off his fund-raising efforts in his hometown of Chicago. First, Obama speaks at a $5,000 to $15,000-per-plate fundraiser. Then before sitting down for dinner he'll head over to a $35,800-per-person event where he might actually sit and grab a bite. (See what's on the menu.)

The President alone is expected to eclipse the billion dollar barrier in his re-election bid. That goal is a roughly 25% increase over the record $760 million he raised as a candidate in the 2008 race. " believes he has to in order to offset what he believes to be an onslaught of outside spending especially by corporate interests," says Bill Holman, government affairs lobbyist with Public Citizen.

One reason for the big increase: The Supreme court's ruling in the Citizens United case of 2010, which stated "restrictions on corporate independent expenditures are therefore invalid." In other words, money = speech. In the mid-terms, the first election after the ruling, spending hit a record $3 billion and interest group spending increased five fold vs. the 2006 mid-terms, the Washington Post reported at the time.

Including House and Senate races, Holman estimates as much as $8 billion may be spent on the 2012 elections.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/don-t-call-stimulus-2012-election-spending-likely-20110414-084921-208.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

This is obscene! Eight billion dollars+++ down the memory hole as they cut away at necessary things like health care, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum! :grr: