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Posted 06/06/2012
by Joshua Graham Lynn

Money Wins the Day in Wisconsin

Does the Money Matter? The Wisconsin Recall Election Says Yes.

Don’t you think everyone should see how bad it is?
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94% of candidates with the most money win elections, and this one was no exception. No matter where you stand on the outcome of this election, we can all agree it shouldn’t always be about the cash.

Tell your friends. They’ll agree.

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Comments

http://twitter.com/CapCommentary Capitol Commentary

FDR was outspend 4 to 1 when he initially ran for president.

FYI.

Also doesn’t take into account the muscle put on the street by unions or their manpower which helped get the recall on the ballot in the first place.
- Gbakere
  
  So you’re comparing unions and the wishes of masses of Americans, in this case Wisconsinites, to a handful of special interests whose only loyalty is to profits. 2/3 of Walker’s money came from out of state. Do you think they care anything about the people of Wisconsin? 25% of Barret’s meager funding came from out of state and over half of his funding came from grass roots fund raising (masses of people). The Koch Brothers alone contributed more than double what the entire Barret campaign spent.
  
  ~ Take the money out of politics and all that’s left is the best interests of “We, the people.” ~
  - pamelagoodwin1
    
    Right wing members of the Supreme Court can be held responsible for creating the devastation of our Democracy with their ruling on Citizen’s United which poured secret money into our elections. Activist judges of the Right Wing are responsible for the destruction of our Democracy. Activist judges should be able to be removed from the Supreme Court. We’re needing an amendment to the Constitution pronto!
  - Darla
    
    This money is blown on television ads that nobody really wants to watch. We need a national vote on keeping ads off the tv! They suck, anyway. Who likes to watch that propagana, be it from the right or left? It would be quite difficult to ‘buy’ elections without the tv ads.
Jbcommunication

If no money is allowed then the encumbent will always have the advantage.
- Gbakere
  
  “If no money is allowed then the encumbent will always have the advantage.”
  That may or may not be true but hardly an argument against special interests having the ability to bribe our legislators with exorbitant campaign contributions. As long as money is in politics, America and Americans lose.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/PAVWILMPKNOKZLQODESWJUFVHE Russ
    
    I agree with you 100%. We need to get (and keep) money out of politics. No way is it fare.
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/QK5U6SHIXOQG5EGZXOMXVQ3LFU Gerry
      
      …and religion!
Tldew

Money can’t vote, voter polls suggest that most minds were made up before the majority of spending took place, perhaps the money poured in for Walker because people wanted to effect change in the status quo.
- Nonnamax
  
  Money poured in from out of state. Didn’t you even look at the graphics above?
- Jazz
  
  And do you think that the wealthy donors were spending all that money for fun?
- Jetmayer
  
  Money from one’s employer is coercive. At the very least, an employee must think about whether he is being disloyal to his employer. The question of whether the Kochs know who voted for and against is simply to add up the votes possible from their employees and compare it to the votes possible from the union folks and state employees. Such a disparate vote from those number will give the Kochs reason to move jobs out, move companies out… or to leave them there.
  
  It is called PRAGMATISM.
Mike Coville

Mr Lynn, you must have been upset that Obama won in 2008 by outspending his opponents, right?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Brenda-Walters/1766610253 Brenda Walters
  
  Obama ran a successful 50 state strategy. That took a lot of money and a lot of feet on the ground, on the other hand a divisive one like the republithugs run is cheaper. All they have to campaign to is semi-lits, racists and obstructionists.
- grahamlynn
  
  Great question Mike. I agreed with Obama’s
  statements about money in politics when he was a candidate, but he has
  completely failed to make good on them, along with so many other promises.
  Often because of the influence of special interests. Looking at
  where the country is headed… seeing the distrust and disdain towards
  government from Americans of all stripes, it’s pretty clear that money
  is the problem. It was the problem in ’08 and it’s the problem now. I’ve
  come to believe this cannot and should not be about left vs right. It
  has to be about right vs. wrong.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XWOKX663GQQ7ZDIBKPXQS3IUKY Mike
    
    Thank you for the response Mr Lynn. I am glad to hear that you will speak out about the millions spent by Soros and big Wall St banks to support Obama and other “progressive” democrats.
    
    I do believe that money is a problem in politics, but I do not believe it sways voters as much as you seam to. I personally do not care what candidates say in political ads, I judge them on what they say in person or by their records. Only the lazy are influenced by what they see on TV or hear on the radio.
    
    Where I think money is the real problem is that politicians are convince by the TV channels, that receive all those millions in campaign ads, that spending is needed so they are beholden to those that give them the money. If you look at real grass roots candidates like Daniel Webster you would see that he did all he could to save money because he did not get elected by spending a lot of someone else’s money.
    
    We need to spotlight those few politicians that are doing good and not give air time to those making money off the system.
    
    Thank you for your time.
Dustin Nelson

As much as I hate what’s going on, it’s the people that put these folks in office, it needs to be the people who get them out of office! If they want to turn a blind eye to what their choices are doing until it affects them, that’s dangerous, but their choice. I just hate seeing America decline, but nothing is perfect – even America. Good things may still come from all of this craziness – I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Rjgacke

Unions did get out the vote. The problem is their own members are split along partison lines. I find it hard to believe that people can be persuaded to vote against their own best (financial) interst.
- mikies123
  
  For 99% of us, whether we vote for Romney or Obama, we will be voting against our own best interest.
- MN Resident
  
  “What’s the Matter with Kansas” explains this as clearly as it can be said. The politics of distraction and ignorance.
Anyemail

Voting responsibly entails gathering the facts yourself through trusted, and objective sources. Those who vote based on campaign spending are doing both themselves, and the voting public in general a disservice.
Gobsmacked

I am not a supporter of Walker’s policies, but at the same time I’m also not a supporter of recall elections. I think there was a fair amount of that in this election. I also think that pendulumns swing, I just think it’s unfortunate that after a financial crisis that was really, honestly due to greed on the part of people like Walker’s supporters, that people like Walker are able to hold office at all. It’s weird.
Bill V.

i didn’t think it was about conservatives vs. liberals or pro-union vs. anti-union. i thought it was about financial responsibility vs. financial insanity. No?
- Darla
  
  He gave the rich tax cuts then states there is a deficit. Plus what about the foreclosure settlement $$$ he’s keeping which is suppose to be given to the people???
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_44EDUMCXZR57U7KP75UVLG3EKM JOHN

If your vote can be bought, then you deserve the representation you get!
Jetmayer

Koch jobs mean the middle class has to vote for Koch candidates. Koch spent big money and expectations of loyalty are great in that purchasing power. Would YOU vote against your employer?

Unfortunately, Your employer has no intention to let you off the hook. If your area… Milwaukee is a big Koch city… goes with Barrett, then maybe YOU will find your job sent elsewhere.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_44EDUMCXZR57U7KP75UVLG3EKM JOHN
  
  ever heard of a secret ballot?
  - MN Resident
    
    I’ve heard of it. If Jimmy Carter’s organization monitored the WI election, I might believe in it. Otherwise, it’s a myth in the US.
    - Jetmayer
      
      More to the point, with the election polls so close yet favoring Walker, it is difficult to believe that YOU don’t see that a flip to a democrat would have brought lots of accusations. Elections with poll question on exit are NOT private, not ever. But here is the rub… We now know how much the Koch brothers are willing to spend to buy a political office that can easily affect their profits. If they will spend 68M on the Wisconsin governor who three times said things in front of the press or opponents that smacked of cronyism and selling his office…. just like here in Illinois…. then we know that they will spend considerably more to buy the office of President. It only took a few million to buy SCOTUS… $68M to take the WI governor’s office… but he gave it to them before they actually gave him money… and then what do they do if they have to spend similarly for every Rep or senate office they go after? You must see that it is cheaper to take a close race and buy that office if it has the veto power rather than setting up 20 to 40 Congressional campaigns with millions each.
      
      This is what Citizens United has begat. Pity the stupid SCOTUS who thinks he is ABOVE the fray. He IS the fray. He has damaged the workings of the Constitution and denied us all, state and federal, the value of our vote by allowing the rich to use their money to coerce our vote and to buy the airwaves so that the real truth and the opposition message goes unheard.
      
      Shame on them because they will be responsible for the results of this election in November. Not the voters.
http://twitter.com/MiFoos Mi Foos

Did it occur to you that Walker won (AGAIN) because that’s what the people wanted? And if it’s so wrong to raise campaign funds, maybe you should start creating your next cheese chart showing how our command-in-chief has already completed 153 events — so he can buy all the cheese he thinks he will need.
- Gregbrumfield
  
  It’s true both sides do it.
- MIKE
  
  Did it ever occur to you that this isn’t a partisan problem? Both Democrats and Republicans are taking advantage of this system. No one is blameless. They both have rich corporate friends that want to keep the status quo.
Vinilou

Democracy…….Gone!
NVH

These handful of millionaires and billionaires that are buying our elections today thanks to the Supreme Court, will destroy the American middle class by installing their preferred candidates into office thereby controlling this country to their extreme benefit. Those who voted for Walker will soon reap their rewards in less services, less benefits, less sustainability to remain in the middle class. They will go down with the rest of us into a lower class where every day will be a struggle to survive.

It’s amazing that people are willing to believe the lies told to them by manipulating entities such as Karl Rove and the Koch brothers. These criminal liars know they can fool the masses for whom they have no respect —they just want to use them to gain power. So sorry for Wisconsin who I thought was a state of common sense people, but obviously ill-informed to their detriment. Recall Germany where people stood by while the Nazis targeted others until the day when they came for those who didn’t protest. History repeats itself.
- Greg LeRoy
  
  So right. This was the warm up for the big grab. In the words of Curtis Mayfield, “People Get Ready”…but it ain’t a train that’s comin’ it’s the Orwellean, electronic, fascist corporatocracy! In fact Wisconsin voters just approved their own enslavement.
  Go figure. Instead of feeling defeat this example should make all of us redouble our efforts in getting “Citizens United” thrown out and getting this damn money OUT of politics, period!
- mnhistoryfan
  
  The ONLY way to get this subversion of democracy out of our politics is to forbid any giving to any candidate and to the so called nonprofits who campaign slyly on behalf of them. Crossroads is a good example.
  But the buyers will smother that idea with their gold.
Popeye1021

Republicans have rendered the vote obsolete. Money is the new venue for gaining power in the United States.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1434142707 Andrew Jendrzejewski

This recall election was Wisconsin’s business. It should have been kept that way. Wisconsin people should have been the only ones to influence the election results. And it should have been done with votes, not cash.
- MN Resident
  
  We gave up on democracy in 2000. This is just more of the same from the same people who brought us the Bush elections, two wars and counting, national bankruptcy, and Citizens United.
- Galaxyoilcan
  
  Uh, it was done with votes. The voters have spoken (twice). It’s hard to argue with success. Too bad Obama has no success to point to. Have Obama tell the public employee unions to “pay thier fair share” starting with part of thier gold-platted benefits and pension packages and stop ridding the backs of the average working taxpayer.
A Piper

I am afraid the history we are all condemned to repeat because we fail to recognize it is - :
Germany was a Democratic Republic when the people of that great nation embraced nazism.

The mechanisms of social programming have only grown more sophisticated since then.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4PX73I2NA5SR7KVI2KU7V4TWRE Gary R.
  
  I think your right. I believe that a global economic collapse is coming and to avoid or get out of it a world war might be created. We are moving 60% of our fleet into the pacific. Why? Who knows. There is a vote this week that would legalize the use of propaganda on the American people, why they want to legalize it again no answers, but plenty of guesses. 100,000 drones to be flying overhead by 2020, why? Bills floating around various state houses that would make it a crime to film police in public. We are approaching the point were it’s not enough to do whats right, and simply ignoring the problem just emboldens them even further. They know we did nothing when they lied us into the Iraq war. We set back and watched as they wrecked the economy. They built a debt that threatens our way of life. We fight against each other based on what they tell us. Fox tells you one way to think, while MSNBC covers another path, and then you get the extremes like Limbaugh. I wonder if we the people are going to open our eyes to the the obvious or have we just given up.
Frwndsfrm

Money is NOT the new venue…it has always been so. There’s just more of it these days.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4PX73I2NA5SR7KVI2KU7V4TWRE Gary R.
  
  There is more of it, but it’s in fewer hands. This is the first step in control.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1800263526 Martha Benton

What a bunch of stupid people. You believe this crock about Walker, but it’s OK for Dictator Obama. Very sickening.
- tillie
  
  We know where Obama’s funding comes from. His PACS don’t raise nearly as much as the real grass roots contributors. Obama is also funding a national campaign, not a local/state one. Judging by the amount of money Walker and his cronies had to spend, I’d say they are very concerned about what’s coming to them in November. It will be a blue tidal wave. I hope you have a good bathing suit and a reliable floatation device.
  You are tight- Citizens United is sickening. What’s worse are the people like yourself who defend it.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4PX73I2NA5SR7KVI2KU7V4TWRE Gary R.
    
    I Love what you said tillie. I believe their money spent doesn’t say “we are concerned”, but how bad they want it.
- guest
  
  Martha dear. Facts are facts. Right wing opinion is twisted truth and lies. Look at verifiable facts and form an opinion on your own.
  - Galaxyoilcan
    
    Want facts? Read Obama’s book! Keep trying to dig dirt on Romney while ignoring Obama’s drug induced conffessions. What hypocrites! lol
    - sickofignorentfolk
      
      Don’t think you know what hypocrite means. You are either paid to waste your time or you truly are an idiot. How about Romney’s four deferment? You see more on this since he ‘wanted to serve’.
  - Suzi
    
    Again, Obama is a politician. Our president who campaigned on the side of “the little guy” has made major appointments from bio-tech monster, Monsanto. He is teaming up with Monsanto and DuPont to feed Africa, under the guise of feeding Africa. He’s feeding the bio-techs and his campaign. I believed in him. I was a dope. Keep believing in him, or believe in some other clown, either way, you’re drinking the political kool aid.
    - Suzi
      
      I meant under the guise of being a humanitarian. (A humanitarian would not pollute his grandfather’s homeland with genetically modified crops. Look at what has happened to Indian farmers (in India) as a result of GMO crop failures. Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers have committed suicide as a result of these alliances with GMO crops, and the companies that create and sell them.
- guest
  
  Martha, you look like an average person the same as the rest of us. Tell why you throw your pennies in with the crooks from Wall Street?
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XWOKX663GQQ7ZDIBKPXQS3IUKY Mike
    
    The crooks from Wall Street put their pennies in with Obama, who gave them ball outs. Obama received more Wall St money then McCain did.
    
    A vote for Obama in November is a vote FOR Wall St
http://profile.yahoo.com/PAVWILMPKNOKZLQODESWJUFVHE Russ

You are the ignoramous here
Goofballgpfan

Martha,stop being told what to think by Fox news and Rush and Sean.Give yourself a chance to think freely.It is impossible that everything said by Rush or Sean is correct.
- Galaxyoilcan
  
  Oh, but all the desperate crap coming out of the mouths of Ed, Chris and our sweetie pie Rachael are the truth? Keeping drinking the koolaid Gooof! lol
RCM01

I can’t believe peole are so stupid as to think money doesn’t play a part in all this! Then they throw rocks at Obama because he’s a “socialist”! Hello?
- Galaxyoilcan
  
  Duh! He is Socialist! Hello?
  - Shyneyae
    
    Look up socialism before commenting. That is all!
  - Suzi
    
    A socialist wouldn’t team up with Monsanto and DuPont. Haven’t you all figured out that he is just a politician?
Binky the Red Nosed Pain, dear

Enjoy the Romney Presidency… The GOP will be stealing thew White House in November, I guarantee it. Obama will get significantly more vote nation-wide. It will not matter. The GOP is no longer a political party. It is a criminal enterprise, run by gangsters, period.
- Galaxyoilcan
  
  HA! Like we have REALLY been enjoying the hope and (no) change (for the better) of Obama. It cracks me up how desperate the liberal media is to dig dirt on Romney while ignoring the self-procalmed enthusiastic drug use of Obama. A totaaly racsist attitude accepting it because he was a young black man? Romney abused his dog? Obama ATE dog! Even Bill Clinton know the truth. lol
Binky the Red Nosed Pain, dear

Martha Benton… Wake up… or die… makes no difference to me.
- Galaxyoilcan
  
  Blinky is the most honest Dem in the nation. “Agree with us or you can die..we don’t care which”. So much for tolerance.
islanddreamer

These figures don’t add up. More than twice as much was spent on this election as was donated? I can’t make any heads or tails of this chart. It needs some work but I support the effort to expose this travesty.
Anne Kenney

At the heart of all human dysfunction lies the ego. Diminish the ego both individual and collective and eliminate the power money has to sway us. It is time to evolve beyond the egoic stage of thinking to a better conceptual image of ourselves; One. On a basic quantum level everything you do to others you do to yourself, truly.
My outrage over their unconsciousness gives unconsciousness power. It puls me in. I become unconscious. That doesn’t work… how can I deal with this in a new and creative way to get good results?
Reactivity feeds the ego/unconsciousness. I was so angry at the results that big money had to sway peolple to vote against their own interests in Wisconsin and California. The smoking tax in Cailfornia struck down by the tobacco companies was really upsetting but I realize that present moment awareness is the key. We have to stop doing in ourselves what we hate in others and recognize unconsciousness when we see it. It is like shining a light in a dark room.
Don’t get angry and pulled in or you become unconscious too. Practice self awareness and share information untill the light shines in on humans. We can now evolve in an exponential way with new technology sharing the facts.
People arrive to this world ignorant and stay that way if life never teaches them anything. Be forgiving. Mentally they are children. Their ignorance is not on purpose, they will suffer from it.
Unfortunately us too. But someone has to become conscious first and see the ego in themselves to teach. Weall have one.
How long has it been since Jesus and Buhda walked this Earth? It is time. I am thinking we have to evolve soon or no more us. No one.
Darleene

The one 0/0ers have that kind of money to give to one person can only prove to all Americans you better not blink again. Like you did when you could not find the commonsense to realize why would anyone give MILLIONS to one person. The one 0/0ers are not spending the Billions on Americans to get them back to work. They say because of our economy, it’s a risk they can’t take. Think about it. But they can roll the Billion $ dice on candidates in washington. WHY???
Wake up. It’s not for you. Remember who were the people that rolled the same dice that made Billions off of us and put you, your family and friends in a finical crises we can’t get out of. But they still want more from the very same people they took from. You can do it. I know you can. NOW DONT DO IT AGAIN 99 0/0ers.
CL

Let’s be clear… The money is not literally buying votes. People are not consciously selling their votes for money. The Kochs did not go door to door asking “how much for your vote?” and writing individual checks to people. The money is used to swamp information channels so that people receive a one-sided message. This in turn influences votes: you have more people hearing one side of the message vs. the other.

A democracy (not to mention a free-market economy) only works when people have access to all of the information they need to make informed decisions. Both of these institutions rely on the voter/consumer actually knowing the costs and benefits of their choices. Only under those conditions can you argue that people are “voting their own interests”. If their information is incomplete or distorted, they will still be making choices, but they will be misinformed choices. These are often bad choices that actually work against the interests of that voter/consumer. The winner is the “liar” who benefits from the distorted message. That’s not an American value. It’s not democracy and it’s not a free market.

In fact, it’s a thinly veiled adaptation of what we see in totalitarian states around the world, North Korea, for example. The North Korean government fully controls the media to keep its people under control. The United States is not there yet, but we’re certainly trending that direction. Unbalanced money has relatively small influences today, but that influence is being used to chip away at the opposition’s access to money, which increases that imbalance tomorrow. We are witnessing the formation of a political monopoly, and left unchecked this will lead us to a place where there is only one message to be heard. Again, this is not an American value.

It’s difficult to argue that Wisconsonites simply wanted Walker when you can’t be sure that the merits of the alternatives were presented on equal footing. Isn’t that what we want… to be assured that the outcome was based on the voters’ unclouded opinions of the candidates’ merit? The statistic I’ve heard is that 93% of elections nationwide go in favor of the better-funded candidate. That hints pretty strongly that people are influenced by the volume of the shouting rather than the message. You can’t definitively prove it, but it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. How much proof do we really need? The folks spending the money didn’t get rich throwing it away, and *they* believe it works… What’s left to debate? Let’s just take that variable out of the equation.

Frankly, I don’t think the issue is the amount of money or the disclosure. It’s the balance of the debate. I think a campaign should be required to purchase equal time/space for it’s opponent’s rebuttal every time, every place they purchase ads for themselves. Sure this has problems when there are more than two candidates, but you already have rules requiring equal time on broadcast networks… can’t we use that system? I think this addresses the core elements of the problem: 1) the imbalance of information, 2) unchecked assertions, 3) differences in campaign strategy (IMO, the sophistication of a candidate’s election strategy is as superfluous to the message as is the funding; they should be competing primarily on policy, record, etc.). You can’t eliminate eloquence as a factor, but I don’t think you should. I believe one’s ability to persuade, to effectively present one’s case is part of the job. But I do believe that candidates should have equal access to the public so that those cases may be presented on equal footing.

To me the argument against Citizen’s United is so fundamentally simple that I can’t understand how the Supreme Court missed it. We are granted by the Constitution an *equal* right to free speech. No one is more free to speak than anyone else (felonies aside). In order for money to be equated to speech, wouldn’t we have to mandate equal money for all? If money is speech, and some people have more money, then we no longer have equal protection under the Constitution. So unless we want to move to a system of equal money, we have to break the equation between money and speech. You can’t invoke the 1st amendment to invalidate laws about money. The Constitution protects your right to speak, but but it does not protect your ability to purchase amplification.
- Thom E Ald
  
  Ignorant analogy. Riches is the root of all evil. We are in line with Greece, Syria, and who knows who is next. The people will revolt here too, I’m glad I’m too old to be around when it happens. I feel sorry for my children.
- Slrufe
  
  I think your comments are well thought out and present a clear argument that Citizens’ United is a breech of the 1st Amendment when monied interests out weighs the free speech of an individual. Equal protection under the law is violated.
- Fiona
  
  Brilliant analysis–I think you’ve clarified the whole picture. Wish the media would say exactly this–they have a lot of power, and can get the message out there. Also the internet–I hope you copy this on Twitter, Facebook, etc. We can reach a lot of people that way (at least those who are tech savvy).
- john
  
  WoW CL well said “equal money” . How can we have equal opportunity or equal protection under the constitution, when one has more money in an election than the other. It is ones personality, their words, their deeds, their plans, we are judging. Not how many times they show themselves on television shouting unclaimed lies. We need a leader that can clean this mess. Campaign lies should be held accounted for in public squares in front of all to see. I want you to know that we live among good people in our communities, we are basically good citizens, we work hard, we buy our groceries and we pay our taxes and bills when possible. It is a minority of large corporations that seem to be able to buy our elected officials that we need to get rid of.
- kak
  
  This should be printed in every form of printed material across the country…NOW!
Galaxyoilcan

This doesn’t count the millions the Dem party PACS (also out of state) poured into the recall attempt. I am so happy to see all the biased Dem huggin’ media types(Racheal, Ed, Chris etc.) going ape over this failed recall. The Dems picked this fight and lost BIG TIME! The voters have spoken (AGAIN). Keep chewing those sour grapes (bitter aint they). lol
- Ginchinchili
  
  “This doesn’t count the millions the Dem party PACS (also out of state) poured into the recall attempt.”
  Actually, it does. See that second section from the top? Out of state PACS spent $1 million on Barrett. But you don’t really care, do you? You’d be perfectly happy with a Chinese style one party state, wouldn’t you? So what if it isn’t what our Founding Fathers crafted our Constitution for. There’s not much they can do about it anyway, can they? Jefferson tried to warn us:
  
  I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of
  our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government
  to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
  
  Thomas Jefferson
Hjcrawf

It’s just the beginning. When the company head comes out and says I have to let you go,I have someone willing to do the same work for us minus a pension and insurance,and will even accept $100.00 bucks a week less, since he/she wants to get off food stamps. Then you may wish you had a union to fight for you.
I’m sure the elected officials in Wisconsin and DC are forgoing their health care and pensions, due to this tribulation. SUUUUURE THEY ARE!!!!
- Ellen
  
  They have a plan…and we are not included. Except of course to do their bidding after the dust settles..right to work….means right to less pay. This country is in for a bigger jolt if right wingers have their way. Folks need to read their history books on “why” Unions were necessary…and those that shed their blood …was murdered and maimed so we could have safe and good paying jobs. Stop listening to all the crap and research and find out the truth…
  
  No elected official will do without their health care and pensions, or any of the perks from lobbyist…however, they could care less about the public…lies will abound…and it appears we are being cooked in the squat!
http://twitter.com/francineclaire denise zambeck

This is way to scary – this means they can buy the presidential election as well.
- Katybdid44
  
  Yes, that’s why it’s so scary.
- Madeline Holland
  
  That would be the point.
Ellen

The voters may have spoken….why, count the cash. They all need to hang their heads in shame. Who let the dogs out anyway? Goes back to the Supreme Court and all the greedy bastards out there
EF
http://twitter.com/pallentx Paul Allen

As long as we keep fighting this as Democrats vs Republicans, we all lose.
Dave

The ones to blame for this mess are the DEMOCRATS. The DNC provided virtually no support either financially or otherwise because . . . crap! – who the hell knows! Meanwhile, the GOP and its corporate pimps made no apologies for pouring tens of millions into this race, freed from all funding constraints courtesy of ‘Citizens United’. And speaking of which, the whole reason we have C.U. and unlimited, anonymous funding of campaigns is because way back when, the Democrats folded like lawn chairs when they should’ve opposed (i.e. filibustered) the nominations of corporatist Supreme Court nominees Alito and Roberts. Remember Trent Lott’s famous coining of the phrase ‘Nuclear Option’? That was their threat to rewrite the rules of the Senate to eliminate the filibuster. In typical, cowardly retreat, the Democrats made a grand deal that only they could make – they’d approve virtually all of Bush’s federal judicial nominees as well as the likes of Alito or Roberts so that the filibuster – which they pledged not to use – could be preserved. Look where it got us. If you feel frustrated with these hapless Dems, call them. And the person to call right now would be the head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Go to http://www.house.gov and enter her name in the search bar to get her Offices’ contact numbers.
- Boris
  
  Fuck you and the elephant you rode in on, Dave. Only asswipes like you come to a site that you evidently despise to sling the shit. You’re a jaded prick, because anyone that has paid attention to the goings on in congress can’t say the the Dems didn’t at all attempt to compromise with the Retardicans. As far as Bush’s and eventually Alito, Roberts’ shenanigans, I DO believe this topic was “Who Bought the Cheese”. Go on back toe the Faux News Channel site and wallow with your ilk.
  The facts are, delaying tactics like the filibuster were used on 8 percent of major legislation in the 1960s, but they were used on 70 percent in the 110th Congress. So there’s no question that the filibuster is not now being used in the same way it has been traditionally.”Our primary goal is to defeat Barak Obama in the 2012 elections ….. “ Mitch McConnell.
  
  See you in November …. asswipe.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/E6I6AYSTWTNLVRV2INEBRYVNS4 Liberal and Proud
    
    Boris, I thinlk you missed Dave’s point. He appears to be a Democrat that is tired of them getting walked all over. You cannot disagreee that they have no backbone. I hate to say it but the republicans have got their act together and if we don’t wake up, it will be all over.
  - Madeline Holland
    
    Why do you have to bring nastiness into a civil conversation. It looks to me as though both sides were having their say. Can we all get along?
  - Otto
    
    You obviously misunderstood Dave, who is correct. The Dems sold out, and don’t fight when they should. It aint gonna happen within the system. That is the responsiblity of the people (us). A strong, huge, relentless progressive push form the ground is what we need.
- John Russo
  
  You are so right Dave. Dems are weak. They have no balls. Even obama should be more dynamic. We need a guy like Ed Shultz or Finegold. All we do is wisper when we should be shouting. I go to bed at nights feeling disappointed. It’s as if the bullies in school won.
- Pilotsgun
  
  Both parties suck & have been bought by the corporations. Reguardless of who wins the people lose. Everyone is gettin wise, mark my word, people are pissed & its about to errupt. Its not going to take much.
- Katybdid44
  
  Wake up, this is not about parties, it’s about$$$$$$$$$.
http://www.mutetheloot.org/ Songwriter Ron

http://www.mutetheloot.org/

http://www.mutetheloot.org/song/

http://www.mutetheloot.org/about/mute_loot.shtml

While corporations have freedom of speech, and can “speak” via negative political ads, We The People are not obligated to “listen”. The Constitution does not provide for any “right to an audience”.

We The People pay our cable or satellite TV bills in order to watch programs that WE want to view. We did not sign up for cable or satellite television and pay our monthly bills in order to be bombarded with negative political ads (at increased volumes, having ominous sound tracks).

Each election cycle brings with it record amounts of spending on political ads, most of which are negative. Election Year 2012 will be more of the same, but only worse. These negative ads disparage the opponent, rather then even try to explain the the plans or benefits of their candidate. We have gotten to a point where political advertising is now an “arms race” of wanton spending.

The Super PACS have $Millions of dollars to spend. But “We The People” have millions of TV Remote Control with MUTE buttons.

“Can’t wait for Congress, or a lawsuit / Put your finger on the Mute … button!”

“The Super PACS can talk, talk talk, but We’re NOT Listenin’. La la la la …”
- 69Tuscany
  
  I no longer have a television. I get my news on democracynow.org and I watch movies from the library on my DVD player. .
  - http://www.mutetheloot.org/ Songwriter Ron
    
    69Tuscany,
    
    Glad you liked the website. We are in the process of making a music video to go with the song. I have hired a college student part-time for the summer to edit the video (I’m being a “job creator”, albeit a part-time job, to defray their college debt).
    
    We’d like to get folks to send in photos and/or video clips (sing along with song refrain), so that we can include some of the 99% in the music video. It would be nice to get someone from each of the 50 U.S. States to include in the video. For more info:
    
    http://www.mutetheloot.org/video/
    
    Please pass the word. Thanks.
- john russo
  
  Well said, now why did I not think of that. YES, let the corporations spend billions on the next big election and we the people re-elect obama! that would teach them a lesson! But we really have to stick together and that would take a campaign of unity. We could do it but we need a leader like Ed Shults to guide us.
- ThunderingWI
  
  You had to see it to believe it. The amount of money not only impacted advertising, it hired very experienced and brilliant staff to masterfully spin lie upon lie. The funds also bought influence for newspaper endorsements. The amounts listed above are low–we will never know how much was spent. The unlimited funds went far beyond just TV, cable and the lies were everywhere: very small niche radio and print markets, billboards, print media, websites, canvassing, phones, texts. They hacked the Barrett campaign’s computers then texted union households with anti-Barrett messages. We are screwed, until CU is dumped through a constitutional amendment, for starters. Move to Amend is doing great work, which is where I am going to turn my attention.
- Katybdid44
  
  Well said, thank you very much. How about a “Detonate your TV” campaign on line. I would contribute to that!
- Madeline Holland
  
  Or better yet, cancel your television service. I haven’t had a television service in about thirty years. Back in the forties and fifties they were already talking about “pay TV”, with the advantage being that we wouldn’t have to watch commercials. Did that happen? Not on your life. Every time they raise the cable rates, you get more commercials. Think about how worried the cable companies and media providers would be if only ten percent of the American people cancelled their television service within a one month period of time. Think about it!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1670114924 Rita M Nicholson

This is so very wrong and goes against anything our American core values of trying to make a better country for our citizens (real, air breathing people). The United States of America, was founded on freedom created by the people (real air breathing humans) and for the people (real humans). It was not created for just a few of the people (selfish and greedy) and all of the Corporations (those having no souls). It is disturbing that Wisconsin residents did not see where the money was coming from (or maybe they did) and chose to follow the money path rather than the needs of all their citizens. To run a country or a state while supporting only half of the population is just wrong and is disqusting to the utmost! If we do not do something immediately about Citizens United, then you can bet we will be looking more and more like a third world country because of the Corporations, Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove (who should have been put in prison and after serving his prison term banished from the United States of America) and all those who have this very disturbed ideology of what they think the United States of America should look like.
- Lborden-sistrunk
  
  it’s called voting against your own self-interest. it is sad but true.
http://twitter.com/NotFromOff kenny martin

Impact of Graphic spoiled by incessant plea of Donate/Donate/Donate.
- Brett Williams
  
  Yes, one gets the impression that they are aware of this corruption-of-money business on a very very personal level.
Suzi

Our government and the unions have outlived their usefulness. Neither is the answer. The answer is in the people. The people of Wisconsin are smarter than most of you give them credit for. Republican or Democratic, both are drinking the Kool Aid.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Kienzle/100001635192707 Andy Kienzle
  
  Are you saying the structures we have no longer function for the benefit of the majority of citizens or are you saying we don’t need government or unions at all?
  - Suzi
    
    I think that the structures we have no longer function for the benefit of the majority, that we (the people) need more control over decision making. I think we need to have much more of the business of the government put to the popular vote and in this case, the people of Wisconsin spoke. The people of Wisconsin made this decision. This graphic is so poorly done. Too many Democrats, including friends of mine keep sending out stats and charts, from unreliable sources, to back their opinions. This is getting old. They don’t even bother to check the facts and sources, which is costing them credibility. These arguments between Democrats and Republicans are pointless. When we all just keep trying to support an ideological viewpoint, we are not moving forward.
Dorothybuchholz

This outside money is sickening. People should be scared. The zillionaires want to return us to the days of the Robber Barons and so few people are paying attention. How much money is enough?
Bernie

This isn’t just a current problem. This was a well thought out plan by the Republican Party over 30 years ago. It began under Ronald Reagan when he fired the Air Traffic Controllers. It was a warning to some of us, at that time. No matter what Reagan did policy wise, the underlying current was always to go after more and more unions. I’ve watched friends and family lose their union rights , i.e. insurance plans, pension plans, pay plans – over and over during the past 30 years. It has been a concerted effort to displace unions whenever possible. Why? Unions have always stood for the people. Unions are made up of American people. When Unions make good wages it brings up the wages of non-union employees in the general area. When Unions fight for benefits and workers rights it improves the benefits and rights of non-union wokers around them. Unions have always been the main contributors of the Democratic party – which in turn stood for the people. Since Unions have declined, more and more contributions come from entities that only care about “what the government can do for me personally” i.e. people with wealth and influence, who don’t care about you and me! Whats happening now is the progression of that plan, where both sides depend on monied interests in order to keep their jobs, and make more and more promises and concessions to people of wealth. I’ve never been more afraid of what’s going to happen to this country than I am right now! When I heard about the Citizens United decision I e-mailed everyone I knew. My view, at that time was that Democracy, as we know it, had just died! I still feel that way. I don’t know the answer, but, Scott Walker in Wisconsin said something that I’ve always felt. Divide and conquer!. It’s working! I agree with some of the comments here today. We, The American People have to stand togeter as one. We’re not Democrats – we’re not Republican – WE ARE ALL AMERICANS and we have to stand together to save our country and our way of Life! They, the powerful monied interests, want us fighting each other, because as long as we’re fighting each other we are not fighting them! Divide and Conquer worked in Wisconsin, and its working against everyone of us who remains angry and partisan!
- http://twitter.com/pallentx Paul Allen
  
  I believe our problems are both in the republican desire to get rid of unions and in democrat desire to promote unions and enjoy the funding they can bring. Its not about party or unions.
  
  “They, the powerful monied interests, want us fighting each other, because as long as we’re fighting each other we are not fighting them! Divide and Conquer worked in Wisconsin, and its working against everyone of us who remains angry and partisan!”
  
  That is the heart of it. If you think the problem is the Republican’s fault, or if you think the problem is the Democrat’s fault, you still don’t see it. Republicans want you to believe they are about fighting socialism, wasteful spending and creating opportunities for everyone. Democrats want you to believe that they will fight the big corporate interests. Both, when elected, do the bidding of the lobbyists who fund them or the lobbyists they want to fund them. There is no “good lobbyists” / “bad lobbyists” – its all corruption that drowns out the voice of the people.
  - http://www.facebook.com/jenny.kosloske Jenny Kosloske
    
    Well Said. You get it, sir!!!!
  - Dave S
    
    Well said and I agree.
    But it is still the greatest country in the world. Unions are just as corrupt as big corporations and as government and as both political parties . At least we have not yet come to blows in our congress as they do in other countries (ie : Greece- male member striking a female member– in other countries I have seen free-for-all fights in their sessions). We get to disagree without being jailed or executed.
    
    Whenever I watch the Olympic games, I am amazed at how many athletes get their training in the USA.
    
    When either party makes statements comparing how much more China is spending on roads etc, I just laugh about it because their roads are in so much worse condition and inadequate. They have so far to go to even get close to comparing with our highway system.
    
    Or when they compare how much better kids in other countries are doing compared to the USA, I wonder if we can trust the test scores coming from those countries ( ie are they comparing just elite students or not??). I have seen reports of our own schools cheating to get ahead.
    
    According to a poll by CNN, 88% of people in Wisconsin had made up their mind before May – and I think about half of the money was spent in May- so I think we need to some credit to the voters who can think for themselves.
    
    In a capitalist society, you will never get big money totally out. I watched a “60 minutes” program on organized crime in Japan and it told of a crime boss who was able to come the the US and get a liver transplant because he could afford to pay cash to one of our “elite” schools. I have heard of top government officials in the middle east counties who come to Mayo clinic for their health care – If I had that much money, I would do the same thing and so would most of you reading this.
    
    I do not want to believe that democracy is dead – it has problems and hopefully some good leaders – ie leaders with backbones who do not give in to special interests but really do have the country at heart – will emerge from all this and straighten things out. Both sides must give and stop this “class warfare” and “blame game”. I did not like it when republicans were demonizing the health care bill by saying there would be “death panels” – nor when democrats saying the Ryan plan was “throwing grandma over the cliff” . Both sides know what the problems are and that things must change. But to use “scare tactics” sickens me.
- Lynncidila
  
  Thank you Bernie I could have not stated it any clearer than you just did!Everyone who is not for the Unions will eventually understand and we will be fighting to get Unions again like in the thirties and forties.
Katybdid44

We have to stop giving money to political parties, our little donations are being misused and against the likes of the Koch Brothers are doing no good. Wisconsin was bought. Has “Granny D” Haddock’s hike across the country in the year 2000 and at the age of 90 to bring awareness to the gross waste of campaign monies been for naught? I hope to god not. Campaign finance reform is necessary if we ever want a true democracy in this country again.
Suzi

I am saying that both sides are getting completely played, by our federal government, the unions and big ag, and the corporations. Our government, Democrat or Republican is elitist. Republicans and Democrats like to split all these groups apart, take sides and quote stats to prove viewpoints. That is all pointless. Our country was established as a Democracy. This is why the people cannot rule and all the arguments are essentially meaningless. As a Democracy, we vote, but the bottom line is that our vote is for a person, who by our vote, we are giving our trust to represent us. Our government is largely corrupt because we cannot count on our representative to do those things that are most important to our health, our well-being, and our ability to thrive economically. A Democracy should have prevented elitism and all of this mess, but it has not because all government historically, and eventually corrupt. Governments not matter how perfect they seem in ideology and conception, have a shelf-life. If our government were stamped with a freshness date, I’d say that the date has past. Our government is no longer functioning for the people. It is stale and corrupt and as it is, it cannot change, because basically who enter Washington DC politics become part of a machine that is bigger than their ideals, and their ability to create change. At this point, we would be better run as a Republic, where every person’s vote counted and every issue could be brought to a popular vote. For instance, want GMO labeling? This means a lengthy fight smothered in a quagmire of interest groups, including the government. Other countries have it, but not the United States. This is simply because our government is corrupt. The money that is already streaming through the federal government is the issue. Who has influence is the issue. In a Republic, a people’s vote decides. In a Democracy, “the government” decides. People can keep quoting stats, to support their viewpoint, but the people who voted are smarter than the money. We need more opportunities to vote on issues at a state level. Obama is signing agreements with Monsanto. Wake up people.
- Madeline Holland
  
  Unfortunately our government is not a democracy but a republic. It was intended by our founding fathers to be a republic so that “common” men would not hold high offices. Think about it – many of them were slave holders.
  - Suzi
    
    Gosh, I meant that totally the other way around. Yes, we are a Republic. Very embarrassed, to have stated this backwards, but I hope my intent is clear.
  - Daniel Werst
    
    yup, adams and madison were quite exlicit about this
  - Anc
    
    Madeline, FYI, this is a republic with a democratic form of government. So, what you have posted isn’t correct. Check it out, please.
- tillie
  
  I understand what you are trying to say, but you forget- WE ARE the government! WE are society. If we don’t like what’s going on, we can change it. Problem is , we don’t. Everyone thinks elected officials should do all the work. If we the people sat on top of our elected officials the way the republicans sit on their team, we would be heard. As it is, writing a letter, sending an e-mail or making a phone call seems to be too much for the average American. I went to a DNC function the other day and could not believe how many people there (and it was packed) did not have a single clue about what COngree has been doing for the last three years. They don’t know who their representatives are and could not care less. I don’t consider myself too well informed,but next to some of these folks, I felt like a Politics Junkie! I felt like I should have my own show!
  Stop blaming the elected. The fault is totally ours. WE THE PEOPLE are a lazy, spoiled, greedy bunch of uneducated citizens who expect DC and local government peons to fix all our troubles for us.
  WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!! You may not agree with everything Obama has done (or not done) but the alternative is not an option, either!
- Mick
  
  The record of human history shows that “…. man has dominated man to his injury.” Eccl.8:9.
  What hinders human efforts in the field of government?
  Jer.10:23 “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong.
  It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”
  God did not authorize his human creation to chart its own path independent from God.
  Read Dan. 2:44 “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom ( a government ) that will
  …. crush and put an end to all these kingdoms ( human governments ), and it itself
  will stand to times indefinite ( forever ).”
  God is my supreme ruler, with Jesus Christ as king.
- Lynncidila
  
  You are the one who should wake-up, our government is smaller now than it was under the repubs, they, the Repubs, are the ones who get unemployment lower by hiring more government workers then they make the Democrats get rid of them to make the employment numbers higher so the Repubs can get back into office, this is one vicious circle and people need to wake up to the fact that it is the Repubs who grow Government not the other way around. History bears this out and that is why the Repubs do not like public schools as they can not buy them off. They have the ability to tell the charter school what to teach and what not to teach thereby the children do not learn the true facts about history. Which is a crying shame.
Mayor Ryan

The problem is not free people coming together to spend money on how they want their message to be spread, its the sheeple that believe anything they hear and don’t think for themselves. Instead, you want government to start monitoring speech and soon there will be laws on how the ‘news’ must report. Your best start is to educate people, but since you want a public education system rather than a free market, you get what you had coming. Johnson 2012!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Owen-Gourley/1376650463 Owen Gourley
  
  If it weren’t for public education, the overwhelming majority of the country would probably still be illiterate.
  - Daniel Werst
    
    Adam Smith made this point about capitalism and class based education
  - Anc
    
    You are right. And unfortunately, many in this country need to reaquaint themselves, or re-educate themselves about this government and what used to make it such a wonderful country. And there is a move afoot to do away with public education Check out Louisianna and Governor Jindal and what is going on. There is another southern state moving in that direction. Louisianna ranks 50th in the United States; however, instead of studying other school systems and fixing theirs, they’re going to voucher systems, and some of the schools getting vouchers are, well, really bad! Wisconsin ranked 1st in the United States. However, now that Governor Walker is in and cut funding and teachers, I am sure that won’t remain that way. He’s going to cripple the schools system there. What a shame.
- Zimny
  
  Sure, let’s have a “free-market” education system where not only the well-off get an education, but only the very rich get a good one. Or we can do your voucher system conservatives love so much so that government money can be used to subsidize whichever school pays the most money to Republican lawmakers. Then the winners can go back and do just the bare minimum to keep getting their checks. Our public education would be great if it weren’t for Republicans, their corporate overlords, and the laws that enable them to rob the less fortunate.
- Otto
  
  Yeah, make everything into a free-market nightmare, like our capitalist private gulags.
  This whole libertarian bandwagon everyone and their grandmother has hopped on, is so very misguided.
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http://twitter.com/gatormba2003 Shawn Mayer

Unions spent WAY more for Barrett than this graphic implies. It must only include money spent directly by Barrett. Very misleading and shamful to present this as an accurate picture of how money was spent in this election. Please update and include union dollars spent or take it down altogether.
- grahamlynn
  
  Hi Sean.
  
  Thanks for your comments
  
  The “total election spending” section near the bottom (just above the mouse trap) includes the tremendous amount of money Unions spent on Barrett’s behalf. In fact, to your point, the total “outside spending” on both sides of this campaign were pretty similar. $15.1 for Barrett, $16.3 for Walker.
  
  You are right that there may have been merit to including this larger in the graphic itself. Right now it’s just in the small print below the 2 pieces of cheese ($18M and $45.5M).
  
  -Graham
ktdid3542

Money talks, loud as ever! Not fair, but noisy.
Brian Isett

Hey, I agree with the cause, but this graphic is a little hard to read! Consider making it more legible!!
Allan Richardson

Some time ago they did an experiment with chickens (not really) in which they played hundreds of TV commercials portraying foxes as friendly to chickens, caring about the feelings of chickens, and would never hurt chickens. And yet, the chickens did NOT vote to put the foxes in charge of their henhouse. Conclusion: chickens are smarter than many voters!
Suzi

From Opensecrets.org 2008 election, top contributors to Obama’s campaign:

University of California $1,648,685Goldman Sachs $1,013,091Harvard University $878,164Microsoft Corp $852,167Google Inc $814,540JPMorgan Chase & Co $808,799Citigroup Inc $736,771Time Warner $624,618Sidley Austin LLP $600,298Stanford University $595,716National Amusements Inc $563,798WilmerHale LLP $550,668Columbia University $547,852Skadden, Arps et al $543,539UBS AG $532,674IBM Corp $532,372General Electric $529,855US Government $513,308Morgan Stanley $512,232Latham & Watkins $503,295
- kayatz3
  
  So?????
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Lenny-Noybwhy/100003812628635 Lenny Noybwhy
    
    The SO is that big business is electing not us.
Al

The money, of “We The People”, won the election!!!! Not the money of “Big Union”!!!!!!!
- tillie
  
  No, the money of “WE the CORPORATE” won in Wisconsin. THis is exactly what I’m talking about!!!
- Otto
  
  Nobody can afford to be this naive. Wake up, Al!
- Anc
  
  There is NO more big union. Only 11% of the population belong to unions. Are you buying lies? I think so.
  - Daniel Werst
    
    let us apply logic
    
    1. public union workers are a part of the people.
    
    2. they pay union dues.
    
    3. they are way to the left of the union leadership, at least in practice, by 70,000 people occupying the Capitol to protest Walkers law
    
    4. So, if anything, the unions should be using their money in a strategy FURTHER to the left to be representative, instead of backing a candidate who made a point of saying in a debate that he was not labor’s candidate, and where a supporter smeared his primary challengers as a candidate controlled by big labor unions
    
    5. really? walker got his donations from average position people. try again. i think you mean big business
liberalgramma

Does any one else think that spending not only the huge amount contributed for the Wisconsin campaign, but the billions spent for national and state elections in recent years, is not only obscene but immoral? Think what these selfishly spent billions could do for the struggling people and businesses around America. Why hasn’t there been a serious effort to cap campaign spending?
http://twitter.com/john3932 John Mattson

Would it be possible to consider a limit on campaign contributions that would say… “You can only contribute to campaigns that you can vote in.” You can vote for president across the country so every person, even corporations (though I don’t think they are people, you can’t put them to death yet) can contribute to the presidential campaign of their choice. But if you live in Minnesota, you can’t contribute to any campaign in Wisconsin or any other state. And if you live in Minneapolis, you can’t contribute to the mayors race in Bloomington. Really, if you can’t vote in the election, why should you be able to give the candidate money? The only logical reason to do that is to buy some action that is against the voters interest in that election area. Maybe someone out there that is smarter than me could tell me what is wrong with this idea?
AZRANDYUSA

Really? TV ads were the
reason Wisconsin voters overwhelming re-elected Gov Walker? It had
nothing to do with voters upset by Wisconsin’s $3.6 billion budget
shortfall in large part due to public-employee union costs? Let’s
talk REAL money. In 2008, Pres Obama spent a record $740.6M, not only
outspending Sen McCain, he outspent the COMBINED campaigns of Pres Bush
and John Kerry in 2004. So, did he buy his win, too?
- cmonmanreally?
  
  Yes, in 2008, Obama raised more money an won. Yes, Obama took some Donations from Fannie Mae and Golman Sachs. That’s wrong. However, The majority of the campaign money was from smaller donors. In a Post Citizens United country, outside money has more and more influence over election outcomes. That’s fundementaly wrong. The spirit of this movement is too take money out of the election process on both sides. Also, really? Public Union Employees are the blood suckers right? The fire fighters, teachers and librarians? You don’t want to pay them fair wages, don’t use the services. Don’t believe every piece of anti-union propaganda you hear. Interest groups have spent massive amounts of money to discredit labor unions and dummies like you buy into it and turn the working class against eachother.
  - Daniel Werst
    
    a point. and obama has been totally serving the banks.
    
    and barrett stated in a campaign debate that he was not labor’s candidate.
    
    the Dems arent exactly spineless. For structural reasons they are simply the less bullish (relatively) party of capital.
- Rdspratt
  
  And, I suppose, your point is that is an okay thing to do. Because President Obama may have done it in 2008, it makes it all right for anyone under and circumstances to buy an election.
Giuseppeg47

Looks like it’s boiling down to the Republicans that are controlling the elections as are big corporations that have their own interests at stake. Someting has to be done on reversing the Citizens United supreme court decision so people can make proper decisions on their future. That’s the way democracy is supposed to work!!
Rixar13

94% of candidates with the most money win elections, and this one was no exception.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lenny-Noybwhy/100003812628635 Lenny Noybwhy

How stupid are we anyway. The 99% weild 1% of the money. DUH.
Lynncidila

Ohio will be the next state bought with big money!
Tom

One statistic that is missing is the break down of the cost per vote from the Walker campaign. I’m curious to know how much a Walker voter could be bought for. I’m estimating that the Walker campaign paid approximately $150 per vote. Does anyone have a better estimate?

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