Is there any more powerful symbol in the world than the "$"?
"Money is the mother's milk of politics..." This famous quote came from former California State Treasurer and former Speaker of the California General Assembly, Jesse Unruh. He was a Democrat and a prominent voice in the other party during the 1960s and 70s.
Why am I blogging about money? Because Jesse Unruh's quote is as important today as it was when he first spoke it. To many, it is unfortunate and sad that money plays such an important role in the battle of ideas in our great American democracy. Big money has such great influence that the "little guy" has no chance of making a difference, they say.
Well, I disagree.
First, money is very important in politics. As your Chairman, I struggle daily with the task of raising the significant funds that are required to have a downtown office presence, to pay full-time staff, and to support candidates with our various programs. It is a daily challenge and one that is at the center of what we must do to maintain our presence and importance as a party. Without the resources we need, we would cease to exist.
But, at the end of the day, candidates raise money for one reason: to get out there message to the voters. The "little guy" watches the commercials, hears the speeches, gets the direct mail, visits the web sites, and then...ultimately...WE DECIDE ON ELECTION DAY.
If money were the only factor, Mitt Romney would likely be our presidential nominee in 2008. The 90s would have brought us Ross Perot not Bill Clinton. George Soros and his billion-dollar ultra-radical left-wing spin machine would have a much greater impact than they have up to this point.
Money is important, but in our system, the people decide. Do you disagree?
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2 comments:
Belief in our form of governance, belief in yourself, sincerity of message and integrity to stand for the right answer, not the popular answer, all come first. Money will follow those type of high quality candidates. The quality of the candidate and his or her values will lead to the proper investment of even finite financial resources to achieve success. We collectively (voters, candidates and political parties) have lost sight of what is important. It is NEVER too late to get the train back on track. All it takes is hard work. Heck, work is the fun part! I have heard you described by many as "the right leader at the right time." After listening to you on Saturday, you seem to have the right intent, the right goal in mind, the energy to lift up a group and most importantly, the courage to say what needs to be said to make things happen. It's up to the group to decide if they care enough to make it happen. Good candidates need to step up and endure the heat for what is right. Everyone involved needs to accept that working together means understanding --and often compromise-- to achieve optimum results. Is it worth the struggle and risk to implement our collective core values? Absolutely. No matter how off course things may temporarily be, we have to protect the greatest form of government on Earth!
Money has a very important role in politics, but pursuit of it can't be the only goal of a party. That got our national party in trouble for the 2006 elections, and alienated our county party from it's own voters in 2007 by basically selling tax hike endorsements (like the unpopular Issue 27) for campaign cash.
I think we just need to keep mind of the big picture. We need money to have a staff at headquarters, assist our candidates, and perform other party-building functions. But it doesn't end there. We need to stand for something as a party so we can communicate a message to the voters and bring in volunteers.
We need to strengthen grass-roots Republican clubs like College Republicans, Blue Chip Young Republicans, Women's Republican clubs, and all the local Republican clubs. None of them require a lot of money to operate, but can provide tons of support for our candidates.
We need to pay attention to all the aspects of being a party. Money, message, principles, strong clubs, support from registered Republican voters. Sometimes our party forgets that one aspect can't stand alone.
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