While the campaigns and MSM gush over the Q1 fundraising totals <OMG, Obama gives Hillary a run for her money!>, I can't help but be appalled by the amount of money being thrown at these candidates. No, I'm not so naive as to think that a candidate is viable without fundraising ability, but CNN's Bill Schneider just reported that we are hurtling toward a billion dollar campaign. Think about that for a second.
One billion dollars for a presidential election.
Just think of what one billion dollars could do for education, for example. It's kind of vulgar when you think about the elitism involved. Maybe it's just my bleeding heart liberal sensibilities, but it's starting to look like whoever becomes president will have bought the presidency.
Bought, not earned.
Just one more sick legacy left by BushCo. His presidency was bought and paid for, and you don't need guesswork to see who bought him, just look at his policies and you can see who really owns the presidency.
So, why does it take so much money to run for president in the 21st century?
Why have media moguls and advertisers, through their proxy pundits, ramped up the salivating and speculating so early on in the primary?
Who profits from this insanely expensive process?
We deride the consultant culture inside the beltway, and rightly so. They give horrible advice, hamstring their candidates, and all the while they pocket boatloads of cash.
We should care who is donating to our democratic candidates. We should be looking at who is buying their candidate, and who is raising the bulk of their money through regular citizens, not wealthy donors.
We should make this a campaign issue, not in terms of who is viable, but who is buyable. Who will profit from a Clinton presidency? Who will profit from and Edwards, Obama, or Richardson presidency?
Money in and of itself is not vulgar, per se, but who is giving it and what they expect in return very much affects every one of us as evidenced by the disasterous policies enacted on behalf of the oil industry through their puppet, GWB.
Let's dig beneath the numbers and figure out who these candidates are based on how they raise money.