Raising Money

An interesting thing happened in February. Hillary and Barak raised a total of 91 million dollars to fight among themselves. So far they have not used all of this money to tear each other down. Hillary went to the low road first and it worked last week. I have no doubt that Barak will have to decend into the swamp soon. It is a shame but voters keep rewarding the person who does it so.....

The Republicans have enjoyed the Democratic Party brouhaha. The “liberal media" is also playing up each little detail, making a big deal out of some pretty small stuff.

If I were a Republican I would not be enjoying myself much right now. John McCain raised only 12 million over the same period. One might attribute this paultry result to McCain's no longer being in a pitched battle for the nomination. I think he has a bigger problem.

McCain collected just 13% of what the Democrats raised. The previous monthly record was 45 million, raised by Kerry, once he became the prohibitive favorite in 2004. Sure, Bush ended up beating Kerry anyway, but Bush had a fundraising machine in place, he had a pay-to-play system set up for all Federal agencies, and the ability to deliver on his promises for the cash he raised. He had a unified party. Neither Hillary, nor Barak, can say this.

95% of Barak’s money came from people giving less than $100. Almost half came from people donating for the first time. Over 80% of it came on-line. No expensive mailers or TV ads were needed. His campaign money can be spent on the campaign not on raising more money.

Because Barak is getting his money from small donors, he can continue to raise it from the same people. These donors can give another $100 next month and still be nowhere near the donation limit. This could continue to go on through the election in November.

Corporate and wealthy donors may initially seem a juicy target for raising campaign contributions, but they can also be a liability when up against the great unwashed masses.