Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
So I saw this picture on Facebook:
So apparently it's bad when rich people give Republican campaigns lots of money (I do love the fact that they illustrate how many food stamps you can buy; these people are brilliant!). But what about:
The 150-person event, held Thursday night, brought in $15 million, from both ticket prices -- $40,000 per person -- and donations of $3 or more that entered donors into a raffle to win tickets to the event, according to the Los Angeles Times. Tens of thousands of donors contributed an average of $23 in hopes of winning a ticket, the LA Times reported, raising almost $10 million for the campaign.
So Obama could buy 3450 food-stamp-years with the money from his George Clooney fundraiser. Wouldn't this money also be better spent on those food stamps than on the ridiculous ads I keep seeing on Youtube, instructing me to "Tell Barack you're in", or spent on creepy Father's Day shenanigans? Or is this somehow less bad because
1) Sheldon Adelson donating 10 million, and pledging to donate up to 100 million, is worse because he's just one person?
or
2) Donating money to Republicans is evil and bad, but donating money to Democrats is good and wonderful?
What about these fun facts?
The president and first lady Michelle Obama made a rare joint fundraising appearance when they visited the home of actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. The intimate dinner banked about $2 million, with 50 people paying $40,000 each.
...
Among the celebrities on hand to hear Obama's remarks were Oscar winner Meryl Streep, fashion designer Michael Kors and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who moderated a private question-and-answer session between the president and the guests. Broderick, who was starring in a Broadway musical, was absent.
The president and Mrs. Obama also headlined a second glitzy fundraiser in Manhattan Thursday night that included a performance from singer Mariah Carey and remarks by singer Alicia Keys. The 250-person dinner yielded the Obama campaign at least $2.5 million.
...
From Tinseltown to Broadway, Obama has surrounded himself with blockbuster names lately: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher and many others who make more in one year than most people do in a lifetime.
Obama played basketball with a Batman (Clooney) and a Spiderman (Tobey Maguire), all in one game. He held a private chat in Los Angeles with some of the town's younger stars last week, including Jessica Alba and Jeremy Renner. He has had some of the most popular musicians in the business perform at his fundraisers, such as Alicia Keys, Cee Lo Green, Dave Matthews and the Foo Fighters. For his gig with Obama, Jon Bon Jovi even caught a ride on Air Force One.
Why should I be outraged that some rich guy gave 10 million to a super PAC, but not upset that Bon Jovi is riding around on Air Force One?
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May '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
When you don't like the politics the money is being spent on, the spenders of that money are obviously perverting politics with the Filthy Lucre.
Aug '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Can someone provide an equally dynamic chart showing the pac-dollars or Soroesque gajillionionaires have spent on Democratic candidates and/or issues?
My new motto: Fight Fire With Fire. That "turn the other cheek, we are better than that" stuff ain't working.
May '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
What is worse? Mr. Adelson giving however much of his own money or unions confiscating worker's earnings via dues and rather than spending them on training/apprenticeship, retirement funds, healthcare, lockout/strike funds, etc., but giving those confiscated funds to democrats irrespective of who the dues paying members support?
Apr '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
It seems one of the qualifications to be a Democrat is the urgent need to tell others how to spend their money.
Aug '10
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
It's simple to understand. There are two sets of rules: One for the Left, the other for the Right.
Oh - and both sets of rules were written by the Left.
Nov '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Duh! Cause like money is the root of all evil.
Jun '10
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
...and if you're conservative, most of the TV advertising money goes to people who don't like you, and are working against you.
Mar '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
My sense is that we have long since passed the point where money is a critical factor. Both sides have plenty enough to blitz us until we scream. At this point every additional dollar raised is simply money wasted by the donor.
May '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
When spending $10,070,000.00+ on buying and moving a 340-ton unsculpted boulder 105 miles from Fontana to Los Angeles is clearly the better option...
I'm willing to wager that the folks who paid for that tend to vote for the Dems and not those on the right.
Edited on June 17, 2012 at 1:44amJan '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
George Will routinely compares the money spent on politics to the money spent on potato chips. (Potato chips: $6 billion).
Instead, it's deeply disturbing to know what the bulk of political money is spent on ... ads.
Yes, we are that malleable and gullible.
Mar '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Ayn missed it. It's a common error. As her speech for Francisco says, money is just a medium of exchange.
Feb '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
What can you do with $100M? You can have 150 GSA retreats! You can invest in 2 Beacon Powers; or bundle with four friends and invest in Solyndra! Oh, government can do a lot of things if you give that money to them!
Aug '10
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
I'm outraged he thinks the White House can be bought so cheaply. Obama himself said they were going to raise $1 billion for re-election this year.
$100 million? Chump change. Dumb ol' capitalist, trying to undercut the competition...
Nov '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Percival
Ayn missed it. It's a common error. As her speech for Francisco says, money is just a medium of exchange. · 4 hours ago
I'm sorry. I'm missing your understanding.
Dec '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
They should fire whoever came up with this attack strategy. Everyone knows that both sides receive campaign contributions, and no one is going to swallow that the other side's are somehow evil.
Jun '12
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Money isn't the point, its just the grease that allows economic activity to happen. From my perspective, there is not good spending and bad spending, just spending, and whereever a private individual or organization decides to spend its money, it contributes to the overall economic activity. Spending is only bad when the source of the funds was not other economic activity, but rather forced activity, e.g. taxes, dues for forced membership, etc where the individual has no choice how his or her funds forcibly taken and redirected are spent.
Nov '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
That speech is hilarious, thanks for reminding me of it.
Mar '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Fred Cole
Percival
Ayn missed it. It's a common error. As her speech for Francisco says, money is just a medium of exchange. · 4 hours ago
I'm sorry. I'm missing your understanding. · 9 hours ago
Earning money isn't evil. Having money isn't evil. Spending one's own money isn't evil. Giving one's own money to others isn't evil. Even wanting to earn money isn't evil. Loving money can lead one into doing things that are evil. Lying, cheating, stealing, sitting in drum circles chanting "pay my tuition loans"...
Nov '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Percival
Earning money isn't evil. Having money isn't evil. Spending one's own money isn't evil. Giving one's own money to others isn't evil. Even wanting to earn money isn't evil. Lovingmoney can lead one into doing things that are evil. Lying, cheating, stealing, sitting in drum circles chanting "pay my tuition loans"... · 1 hour ago
Oh, she mentions love of money in that speech:
Mar '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Nuts, Fred. To love a thing is to know and love its nature? So, anyone who can't read music can't really love music? I know plenty of Beach Boys fans who couldn't even begin to explain harmony. One needs to write poetry to love it? No one can love a painting unless they can define chiaroscuro? One can work for money without loving it. One can also not have it, and not hate those who do.
Then Rand declares that money is the creation of the best power within people. Feh. There are people I value who have never really had much money and likely never will, but they aren't lesser people for that.
Rand is okay in limited doses, but her arguments run on too long; she paints herself into a rhetorical corner and declares that corner "paradise."