dubyaD40.com

Today's Topics


Friday, May 16, 2008
Small time donors posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:03 AM Obama Campaign Funds to Reach $1 billion Barack Obama the Democratic nominee for President of the United States is expected to raise 1 billion dollars (US) according to Phil Noble the head of politicsonline and adviser to Barack Obama. The staggering amount of money in comparison to previous elections in the US is down to what Noble describes the maximization of internet technology, using forums like Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and others to recruit support and use them to send funds. Barack Obama has already 2-3 million active canvassers on the internet of which many of those contribute funds on monthly basis. The Obama "war chest" has already exceeded $250 million and by August this will easily double according to Democrat sources contacted by thelondondailynews.com. In comparison John Kerry in 2004 for the Democrats had around 100,000 active canvassers in the US. In London the Democrats Abroad lead by Joanna Shields President of Bebo organised a function at the home of Elizabeth Murdoch raising in one day £400,000. The average war chest in general elections in the UK is around £50 million with much of the money coming from trade unions or wealthy donors. This is from people like you and I Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment




	This is great. However, I still think we need serious campaign finance reform. $1 billion dollars to elect a president (not counting money spent on other campaigns and expenses) is ridiculous. The entire process needs to be reformed. It's too expensive, distracting and unreliable right now. posted by Jenna at 11:52 AM


	A billion bucks from "people like you and I" huh? Well I can't really say what kind of "people" you are but I kinda doubt that all came in 20 dollar bills from the average persons pocket. If you need to believe that kind of fairy tale, go ahead. But I'd be interested knowing where it really did come from cause that ain't 'man in the street' kinda bucks. posted by People like who? at 2:25 AM


	This article doesn't really give any kind of breakdown, but most of his donations really do fall under the category of "small donations" - at least in election-speak. I forget what the threshhold is considered for a small donation. The point is, the bulk of his election is being funded by lower and middle class people instead of PACs or the uber rich. $1 billion is the projection - probably quite possible once those who used to support the other candidates make their donations to his campaign. The current amount is $250 million and I can easily believe that based on where I've seen requests coming from and how strongly people believe in him. There are other articles that show a better breakdown of donors. Most are one-time donors and those are typically smaller. It's really the right way to do it. They ask for just a little money, but on the internet a single request can cover a lot of people. I think the fact that he's already received so much money is really testament to the fact that people are tired of negative campaigning. They're drawn to his message and motivated to act in order to hear more. posted by Jenna at 6:32 AM


	I strongly believe that if America stands a chance of real reform, it will start at the elections. I feel all campaigns should be publicly financed and the TV commercials should be PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISEMENTS. That is the only way we will get rid of the wealthy and the corporations running our country. posted by md at 3:44 PM