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July 5, 2009
Money in politics
On the subject of allowing corporations to spend money on political campaigns:
The Supreme Court rightly pointed out that corporations, as opposed to individuals, benefit from special laws, including tax advantages, that assist them in accumulating large amounts of money. The ban on their spending is needed to prevent the political process from being overwhelmed and corrupted. The Supreme Court has upheld the restriction repeatedly.Pure Overreach
...
The most troubling part of the court’s action is the brave new world of politics it could usher in. Auto companies that receive multibillion-dollar bailouts could spend vast sums to re-elect the same officials who hand them the money. If Exxon Mobil or Wal-Mart wants something from a member of Congress, it could threaten to spend as much as it takes to defeat him or her in the next election.
This is nonsense. Steve Forbes was unable to buy himself the presidential election with his billions. Corzine and Bloomberg not withstanding, rich people are unable to systematically buy themselves elected office. Therefore, why would we expect corporate spending to do so? People do have tastes and preferences, and the ability of money and advertising to change those preferences is limited. I once read that the difference between a fabulously run campaign and a poor one (controlling for gerrymandering and candidate quality) is about 4% of the vote. Vast corporate spending may make a difference in tight elections but won't be able to influence the outcome in the large number of land-slide elections.
Posted by OneEyedMan at July 5, 2009 10:45 AM
Comments
While in general I do think you are right that elections in this country can't be bought, I do think that throwing enough money into an election can drastically alter the outcome. I guess I am talking about the past election in NY for the state legislator. Apparently, this whole nightmare started when the new Senate majority leader Malcolm Smith played with his blackberry during a meeting with billionaire Tom Golisano. Golisano felt insulted by this and then persuaded two democratic senators to switch sides.
Posted by: roxnjox ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.belligerati.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 5, 2009 1:58 PM
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