The Political Fundraising Game

It’s such a game. And it’s rigged. Sadly it’s a necessary game. But it’s rigged.

I’m talking about political fundraising. Certainly there have been cases where candidates who trailed in the fundaising game have won elections, but they are few and far between. That doesn’t really happen on the national stage any longer. Candidates need that money for staffing, polling, phone-banking, etc…. Most importantly they need it for advertising buys.

Complaints about political fundraising appeals are as legion as the appeals themselves. Side by side, and increasingly complaints are growing about corporate media.

The next time you complain about coroporate media remember this. A large portion of any donation you make goes right into the pockets of the media conglomerates. So, you’re feeding the beast every time you donate to the candidate of your choosing.  It’s also one of the reasons campaigning never stops. If campaign advertising disappeared tomorrow, so too would most of the manna corporate media feeds on. They have a vested interest in seeing political races stay heated.

Again, it’s a necessary game. It’s one we’ve allowed to evolve and Citizens United opened the floodgates. I’m not suggesting that you stop donating. I’m just suggesting that you understand who profits off of your largesse.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.