Campaign cash: Are we buying candidates or electing them?
When the Mega Millions jackpot grew to nearly $1.6 billion a few weeks ago, the staggering amount captured the country’s attention. Another figure —$4.6 billion — deserves even more attention.
Candidates for the U.S.
Senate and House and for state legislative, gubernatorial and other races nationwide have raised $4.6 billion this year for their campaigns. And the tab still is open.
Let that sink in for a minute. Four-point-six-billion dollars.
Is there any doubt our electoral process has become too driven by dollars?
Are we buying candidates or are we electing them?
When the Mega Millions jackpot was brewing, you probably read stories about what you could buy with those winnings. The same concept applies here. Think about what could be done with the money donated to campaigns.
It would provide 46 billion meals for hungry people. Feeding America says it can distribute 10 meals for every dollar donated.
It would fund Department of Veterans Affairs programs to help homeless veterans for two-anda-half years. The VA requested $1.8 billion for this fiscal year.
It would more than cover the $2.5 billion in road repairs, transit upgrades and other transportation projects proposed for the Lehigh Valley for decades, under the current plan of the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study.
You get the point. That $4.6 billion is a whole lot of money. You could get a lot for it. When it’s spent on politics, though, a lot of it gets spent with nothing to show for it.
For supporters of a losing candidate, it’s like investing in a bad stock.
The $4.6 billion figure comes from an Associated Press report last week. The AP analyzed campaign finance data collected by the Federal Election Commission, the National Institute on Money in Politics and the IRS. It found that $2.4 billion had been raised in races for the U.S. Senate and House and $2.2 billion had been raised for state races. The state total is a record, according to the AP.
Those numbers aren’t even final. Updated tallies will be reported by candidates later to reflect money they received down the homestretch to Tuesday’s election.
The amount of money being spent on politics is concerning.
The need to keep pace in the cash race can lead to candidates doing dumb, and illegal things. I’ve illustrated that point before through the case of former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Last month, he was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted of trading city contracts for donations to fund his bids for mayor, governor and U.S. senator.
Former state Treasurer Rob McCord was done in by his zeal to raise campaign funds. During his run for governor in 2014, he was secretly recorded trying to extort donations from a law firm and another business, with threats of losing government contracts. He was sentenced to 2½ years behind bars.
There is a place for fundraising. If candidates weren’t allowed to raise money to campaign, only rich people could afford to run. We have enough rich people in office. We need more commoners. But the amount of money involved just seems too high.
Some of it comes from candidates’ pockets. Much comes from special interest groups. Some comes from average Joe.
I don’t see Joe getting a lot back for his money. It’s almost like he’s playing the lottery. He may win a small prize, but his chances of hitting the jackpot are slim. Big money donors, on the other hand, are more likely to have their needs cared for because the candidates they support want to keep that money flowing.
A lot of campaign cash is just wasted.
How many people hang up on the campaign phone calls, change the channel on the television commercials and trash the mailers without a second thought? I know I do. It’s reflex now.
We will get a break from those solicitations now that the election is over. But the fundraising never ends.
The candidates who were elected Tuesday will immediately begin laying the groundwork for how to stay in office. That starts with raising money. paul.muschick@mcall.com 610-820-6582 Paul Muschick’s columns are published Monday through Friday at themorningcall.com and Sunday, Wednesday and Friday in The Morning Call. Follow me on Facebook at Paul Mus chick Columns, Twitter @mcwatchdog and themorningcall.com/muschick.