Politics and Money

       This is the first of what I intend to be approximately a weekly blog on whatever is on my curmudgeonly mind.
       It used to be that most funds spent in local political races were, well, local.  Things have changed.  And this is not a recent development.  I remember in 1986 the Town of Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Board was roughly split between Democrats and Republicans.  The Democrats wanted more information before approving a proposed mall.  The state Republican party sunk $250,000 into the Town Board race.  The Republicans rammed through the development at an “emergency” meeting while two Democrats were out of town.  The next election brought a six-to-one Republican majority.  Coincidentally, the corporation that owned the proposed mall, which headquartered half the state away, just happened to have donated $250,000 to the state Republican coffers.  The normal total amount spent on those races before that was $40,000.
       Well, since I was young things may have changed, but since 1986 I think things have not changed much.  My state assemblyman passed away, and his predecessor, whom he defeated, is running to get the seat back.  His opponent has sent out one or two flyers.  He has sent me an average of five or six a week.  When he was last in office, I never got a visit or mailing from him or his staff at all.  In the last ten days I’ve received two visits and two phone calls from his campaign.  What I want to know is where is this money coming from?  The local Democratic Party (his party) has usually been underfunded and in disarray.  Obviously, the state Democratic party desperately wants this seat back.  I had been supportive in view of his previously clean record, but any time someone has eight or ten times the funding of his opponent, I’m suspicious - just who is paying for this election?  Not the local people.
       I guess funding can be more obvious now.  Thank you, U.S. Supreme Court!  Corporations are people, too.  And anyone can contribute to any race, anywhere.  That means you and I, and corporations, could conceivably contribute to election races in any state in the union, and with “soft money”, as much as we want.  You or I, or any corporation.  Exxon-Mobil and I have an equal right to contribute all we wish to any election, anywhere!  How egalitarian.
       As Anatole France wrote, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”  Who has more money, large corporations, or you and I?
       Normally I just listen to positions, and try to choose the better candidate, but when one candidate has far more money than the other, I don’t care what his position is - it clearly is horizontal when it comes to contributors.
                       Comments may be sent to HershelMendel@gmail.com