2010 Election Spending

Here's a link to the Center for Responsive Politics page detailing total spending on the 2010 midterm elections.

Their history page puts this year's spending in perspective.

In case you are wondering what that money is spent on, read this: Call it the midterm stimulus program. The record-breaking campaign showered billions of dollars on a broad array of companies, including broadcast conglomerates, polling firms and small-town restaurants, according to a Washington Post analysis of expenditure reports. Candidates spent at least $50 million on catering and liquor, $3.2 million at country clubs and golf courses, and $500,000 on pizza, coffee and doughnuts, the records show.

Its Good to be a Blue Dog

From USA Today:

The conservative House Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition have seen their political clout grow dramatically as they work to shape the health care debate.

- Wikipedia: Blue Dog Coalition.
- Official Website.
- Open Secrets: Long Term trends in Contributions from Health Care Professionals.

Money Follows Power

Now that Democrats are the majority party in Congress, they receive the bulk of the political contributions from political action committees. Contributions are about access, so this makes perfect sense.

Topical Topics

Here a few stories on the news, some directly relate to upcoming lecture topics:

Last week's Time Magazine's cover story was on, what they call, the incredibly shrinking court. The Supreme Court has narrowed its focus to the degree where its decisions only have an impact on a very small percentage of the public. No more Browns, Mirandas and Griswolds for this group. On the bright side--according to Clarence Thomas--they all get along. We are about to look at the judiciary in 2302, so this is appropriate.

This week's Time tells us something others have said before: whoever wins the Libertarian vote will win the presidency. They tend to side with Democrats on civil liberties and Republicans on economic regulation. Whichever issue is more prominent next November will determine the winner. This will fit with our discussion of the nature of party coalitions in 2301.

The Miami Herald has another story on a topic that has been thoroughly covered before, but needs constant updating: the influence of campaign cash on presidential campaigns.
The need to raise money to run campaigns raises a constitutional issue: the expenditure of money to successfully run for public office has been equated with free speech, which is a civil liberty, but the unequal distribution of funding means that some sides of issues are more likely to be addressed publicly than others, which could violate basic principles of democratic fairness and undermine the legitimacy of the government.

More to come.