If you don’t already know, Tea Party Republican candidate for Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh is personally wealthy. Do I begrudge him that? Is it a reason not to vote for him? No. Of course not. I envy his success, financially speaking. Who wouldn’t?
Tag Archives: Campaign Financing
Where have I been?
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
So you’ve probably been wondering, what’s happened to the regular articles I had been publishing to rid the halls of Congress of the unproductive, inefficient and inept? Am I a fair-weather columnist who only writes when the frenzied excitement of a coming election reaches its pinnacle? Have I contracted a form of political Stockholm Syndrome and have actually become one of the political hacks that have been holding our government hostage?
Nah. I’ve been busy writing a book.
Election funk. My vote doesn’t count.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Hi. I’m depressed. I’m a registered Independent. I live in a state (Maryland) where two-thirds of the voters are Democrats and where President Obama can’t lose. The only Presidential television commercials I’ve seen are meant for Virginia voters. I’m the guy at the bar all the hot girls are ignoring. (Who I’m voting for is none of your business, but it rhymes with “Romney.”) So, no matter what I do, all of my state’s 10 electoral votes are going to President Obama.
Game over. And the score is Money 1, Democracy 0.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
First things first. If you’re wondering about the featured image, those are “Incumbent Hogs,” so named by animal scientists for their addiction to green colored feed donated by the same especially interested parties who intend to eat them (the hogs) later.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger: Addicted to taking special interest money.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Does the title of this piece seem just a tad overly dramatic? “Addicted.” “Taking… money.” Maybe a bit, but it’s true.
Consider the following table, based on Federal Election Commission data for the September 30, 2012 campaign financing reports for Second District incumbent Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger and his Republican challenger, Maryland State Senator Nancy Jacobs. (You can click on the table to make it larger.)
Overkill. How much special interest money has Maryland’s Congressman Ruppersberger raised…
Sunday, September 30, 2012
…and what do those special interest contributors expect in return? That is, of course, “the money question.” Take a look at the table below. You can click on it to make it larger.
Maryland Congressional Races: Money Raised Through June 30, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
This post updates an earlier article that showed the dramatic differences between what incumbents versus their challengers are able to raise to finance their respective campaigns. The previous article’s data were as of March 31, 2012. Reporting to the Federal Election Commission is quarterly. These data, in the table below, are as of June 30, 2012.
Why does the National Beer Wholesalers Association want Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger re-elected?
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Put another way, who exactly is Dutch Ruppersberger representing for the $174,000 per year, plus benefits, that we’re paying him? We know who he works for, who pays his salary, but who does he really represent?
Breaking the Pattern. (Isn’t it about time?)
Monday, June 25, 2012
It’s gotten to the point that a dysfunctional Congress (the President included) has become our most important problem – more important even than the economy because, unless and until Congress becomes functional, it’s not going to deal effectively with any of the critical economic, fiscal and social issues we’re facing.
Dutch Ruppersberger v. Nancy Jacobs: Earmarks and campaign contributions.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
A couple of days ago, Next Contestant published an article entitled, “Earmarks: Incumbent business as usual in Washington,” in which there is a table showing the number and value of the earmarks which were sponsored by Maryland’s representatives in the House and Senate.
Money: Ever wonder why incumbents are so hard to beat?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
The big reason is money. Almost regardless of what they do or don’t do while they’re in office, incumbents tend to be re-elected because their campaigns raise so much more money than their opponents’.
Most voters have no real idea what their incumbents have been doing in Washington. Who they vote for is largely based on campaign rhetoric. Money buys organization and advertising. The more money you have, the more likely you are to win, and that’s that. It’s unfortunate, but Congressional campaigns aren’t so much about ideas as they are about dollars.
Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: Reasonable questions.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
On Monday, May 21, Next Contestant published a piece called “9. Ben Cardin v Dan Bongino: Money buys access.” The article was about campaign financing and, specifically, the $563,946 which Senator Ben Cardin’s campaign has received from 43 organizations related to the health care services industry. Of those 43, the top 2 contributors are the American Medical Association PAC ($141,588) and the American Hospital Association PAC ($64,757). Please refer to the original article for source information.