The latest fundraising numbers are in for the two presidential campaigns and the amounts are eye popping. President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party raised $71 million, which is an enormous haul. But it was dwarfed by Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee which together raised $106 million in the month of June.
For the second month in a row, Romney raised more money than Obama — $17 million more in May and $35 million more in June. When you count all the Republican independent groups and superPACS, team Romney in on its way to outspending Obama and his democratic allies by two or three to one — a spending disparity many political operatives think is a big enough to make a difference in a close race.
That has the Obama campaign ringing the alarm bells. In an email, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said, “If Romney’s fundraising continues at this pace we could lose the election.”
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2 Responses
Most people will question if this is an appropriate expenditure. Unless a candidate has so little money that people don’t even know who he or she is, it isn’t clear that globs of money make a difference. Perhaps we should be proud that so many individuals are motivated to donate so much to make their political views known. Perhaps we should see our elections as a public festival showing off our democracy.
Of course, many countries manage to have elections without spending a dime, such as Cuba and North Korea. I don’t suppose those who object to campaign spending would really prefer to move there.
I’m glad YW mentioned this news article. The mass media fails to report news in favor of conservative republicans.