Why I Won’t Give Money To A Campaign.

Let me just say up front, I’ve got no problem if you support a candidate financially. As a matter of fact I know many people who contribute to campaigns and these people are quite nice. And they believe, for good reason, that their contributions play a viable roll in the political process.

However, as for me and my house . . . well that’s another story. I write this because I’ve been so very close on 3 different occasions to being lured in to give small amounts to a candidate that I like. And each time I’ve had to remind myself of why I had committed not to give, even when it felt like it was something I should do.

To me (and I could be wrong) the problem with America is that there is a growing disconnect between citizens and our government. I’m beginning to learn that this disconnect is not necessarily all the government’s (or big business) fault. That in many ways, we – the citizen, are complicit in what goes on by our blind indifference and lack of radical action. But the problem of this growing disconnect is that many citizens are growing more and more disillusioned with the government and political process.

Long story short, everyday people feel like their best interests as citizens (globally and nationally) are being ignored. Power has been centralized in the hands of the “few”. And these “few” are being influenced by people other than your average, everyday citizen.

For example, getting elected these days is no longer about whose ideas are the most progressive (Kucinich & Paul respectively for each party). Getting elected these days is more like king of the hill with the hill being made up of money. Take a look at the charts below (courtesy of OpenSecrets.org) and you can see very quickly just how the front runners because of their cash flow.

No longer are ideas, ingenuity, or your average citizen what gets you elected. But it’s how much money you have and how fast you can raise it. If history is always told from the perspective of the side that wins, what does that say about our election process? These exorbitant dollar figures that are raised and consequently spent effectively box out the average man from running for a government position. Only those with deep pockets to begin with are even allowed to get the ball rolling in that direction. The day when a man like me could step up and represent his community, be the voice for his context . . . that day is over. Bigger is better. And bigger has won.

Now to be fair, some candidates, Obama and Paul for example, have raised a good majority of their support from small donations from small donors while others have chosen to take large chunks of change from lobbyists and big donors. So at least these campaigns are more representative of the average citizen.

But it’s the process that’s broken. Even if the money is raised from average citizens, what does it say about our average citizens when their candidate has raised over $80 million dollars and already spent $44 million not even a month into the official race?

$80 million dollars for Obama. $90 million for Clinton. $62 million for Romney. $47 million for Giuliani.

You’re looking at a half a billion dollars being sucked out of the average citizen so that we can change the letterhead in the White House? To replace one man with another (or woman)? The process is broken.

Even if I were to give a small donation of $25 to my guy . . . and even if that donation was more representative of the average citizen instead of the big corporation or large donor . . . is this process even sustainable?

In a world where people die from something as simple as clean water to drink, is a half a billion dollars 1 month into an election sustainable?

I can’t imagine this model is replicated in other countries. Only in America would something balloon to this size and most people not bat an eye.

As much as I love Kucinich, I don’t want to help him buy his way into the White House. And as much as I love Barack, I don’t want to help him buy his way into the White House.

You should be able to become a Senator or a President without having to have the biggest pile of money.

I’m tired of being complicit. I might vote for Barack. But he’s not getting a dime of mine. Is that a contradiction?

Perhaps I’m being too critical so I’d love your feedback. Have you donated? Why or why not? What kind of hang-ups with giving money to a campaign do you have? What strengths do you see in giving money?