OldCoyote
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Post by OldCoyote on Jan 14, 2020 10:05:39 GMT -5
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Jan 14, 2020 14:34:20 GMT -5
I would say yes. I remember reading an interview with former President Carter, where he stated that back when he was working for the Oval Office, he didn't have to worry about fundraising. Everything in the political arena, especially the fundraising, is so different now. We're no longer necessarily getting the best candidates, but the ones with the biggest donors (or deepest pockets).
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jan 14, 2020 14:46:34 GMT -5
money only does so much.
but I think we are going to get to see in 2020.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jan 14, 2020 15:03:13 GMT -5
Yes. Of Course. Money=power. Politics is about being in power.
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dondub
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Post by dondub on Jan 14, 2020 16:02:04 GMT -5
Citizen's United. The greatest misnomer in American political history.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jan 14, 2020 16:44:18 GMT -5
Absolutely. It buys any political position.
Viable candidates have to have a big enough "war chest" to make it worth their while to run for an office. They need to either fund it themselves or thru donations.
I would say President Trump is the first modern president who perhaps can be said to have "bought" the presidency.
He had no political experience before entering the White House. So, he wasn't elected based on a political track record.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jan 14, 2020 16:51:32 GMT -5
Well, money buys (almost?) all of our government. My rather erratic memory jumped straight back to this 60 minute episode when I read the title of this thread:
"Fundraising a Top Priority Mandate to D.C. Politicians Have you gotten a call from your political party asking for money lately? Fundraising is big business in Washington, D.C. So big, in fact, that your newly elected Congressional representative is expected to spend half of his or her working hours dialing for dollars at a secret phone bank near Capitol Hill.
You read that correctly. Actually, more than half their time, sometimes 6-8 hours a day, is spent not working on legislation. Instead, they are essentially full-time telemarketers who are told that their top priority is to raise obscene amounts of money dialing for dollars. All this, during business hours when they are supposed to be working for you, the taxpayer. Shocking, isn’t it?
This past Sunday, April 24th, 2016, 60 Minutes broadcast an exposé unveiling the outrageous phone banking operations of an uncontrollable D.C. political machine. …" www.termlimits.com/congress-fundraising-priority/
or if you are more into the visual presentation of information look here: www.cbsnews.com/video/dialing-for-dollars/ And anyone who thinks the presidency is less prone to money plays is rather naïve IMO.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jan 14, 2020 17:32:30 GMT -5
My taxes going toward building the Wall on the Mexico/U.S. border is buying the presidency.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jan 14, 2020 18:04:09 GMT -5
It can buy both a Presidency as well as a President.
And Senators, and Representatives, and governors, etc.
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sesfw
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Post by sesfw on Jan 14, 2020 20:29:11 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, pappa Joe Kennedy bought the prez for son JFK.
But that was a long time ago and the world was sorta different then. Communications were a lot slower.
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jan 15, 2020 1:23:04 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, pappa Joe Kennedy bought the prez for son JFK. But that was a long time ago and the world was sorta different then. Communications were a lot slower. JFK was the first TV president.
before JFK, it was not really necessary to run TV ads or be telegenic.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Jan 15, 2020 9:27:20 GMT -5
Money seems a lot better at buying a party nomination than it does at actually buying the Presidency.
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jan 15, 2020 10:44:07 GMT -5
Money seems a lot better at buying a party nomination than it does at actually buying the Presidency. money is good for getting you NOTICED.
once you get noticed, no amount of money will help you win if you are the wrong candidate.
there are countless examples, but Meg Whitman is the first that comes to mind.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jan 15, 2020 18:53:42 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, pappa Joe Kennedy bought the prez for son JFK. But that was a long time ago and the world was sorta different then. Communications were a lot slower. JFK was the first TV president.
before JFK, it was not really necessary to run TV ads or be telegenic.
Poor Nixon hadn't figured that out during their TV debates. He came off looking like the creepy, greasy uncle who wanted all the girls to sit on his lap at the family reunion. JFK looked like Barbie's Political Candidate Ken.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jan 15, 2020 18:58:03 GMT -5
My grandmother knew Nixon. (and admitted it, lol!) Surprising to me at the time, she told me that he had a magnetic personality and was very engaging, at least in small group settings. Obviously this did not translate to television. Nixon magnetic? Who woulda thunk it? But, Nixon aside, it is a shame that the visual media has somewhat limited and handicapped the potential political fields since then. There are many great political leaders, including Washington*, Lincoln and FDR who would arguably be adversely impacted today by the visual media. *You could argue that the first GW would have had better teeth today though, lol. I think Teddy had a very high reedy voice that wouldn't play well today. And imagine how FDR would have come across if the media posted a ton of photos showing him in his leg braces or wheelchair. It's a shame, there's probably thousands of excellent candidates for office who never got a chance due to their physical appearance/race/sex/voice, while plenty of our crappy candidates looked, as Trump puts it, 'straight out of central casting.'
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jan 15, 2020 19:01:25 GMT -5
Bloomberg has pledged to donate 1 BILLION dollars to the democratic candidate who wins the nomination (even if it isn't him) in order to defeat Trump.
I don't know if money will buy the presidency, but surely that is not good news for Trump.
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Cheesy FL-Vol
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Post by Cheesy FL-Vol on Jan 15, 2020 19:13:40 GMT -5
Bloomberg has pledged to donate 1 BILLION dollars to the democratic candidate who wins the nomination (even if it isn't him) in order to defeat Trump. I don't know if money will buy the presidency, but surely that is not good news for Trump. He’ll pull money from somewhere that are probably funded by taxpayers.
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