The unions and PAC's are not "grassroots". My wife was a member of AARP. She had no idea of any political ways they may have spent her membership.
The same is true of unions. You MUST belong to a union. You MUST pay your dues. You expect the union to get you more money or better conditions, but making a positive step to stop them using your money to support politicians is too bothersome for most people.
(It's the same procedure that commercial concerns use when they give you a free subscription, or free insurance for 3 months. At the end of the period you can cancel. But, many people can't be bothered and they keep the free-bee - except now they are paying.)
The statement by the top Democrat that raised my eye-brows was that they had to go after the $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, contributions from the grass roots. I would have expected him to talk about the $5, $10, $20, contributions.
However, there is a problem with "soft money" becoming illegal before the next elections, so they are going to need a lot from the "grassroots" - when they manage to organize some.
The Republicans did it better than the Democrats, Karen. If you refuse to recognize this, you'll be caught next time.
I began this new branch by telling the list that I had warned them about Bush. You'll notice that he softened enough to get every member of the Security Committee to vote for the "or else" resolution - something I had thought would be pretty impossible.
I'll repeat. This man is a negotiator. He knows how to get his way. I think the chance of full-scale war has now become unnecessary and unlikely.
But, it depends on Saddam.
If he plays around, he will now be playing around with the UN and not with the US.
Think about that.
Harry
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Karen wrote:
Let me add to this thread what I know about grass roots fundraising from Oregon state politics. As in other places, monied donors can easily write $1,000 checks and more for a rubber chicken dinner and another $500 for a "shake and grin" photo op with the candidate or big name celebrity flown in for a dress-up occasion. Average voters, who might manage $125, cannot afford these opportunities for personal introductions and networking. Thus, the unions and PACs serve to represent collective voices, either through annual membership dues like the Sierra Club or AARP or $5 donations pooled. That's essentially grass roots fund raising, or the clean side of it. Although the local news loves to showcase the few and far between success stories of shoestring candidacies, the vast majority depend on large donations, massive organization and corporate underwriters. Active democracy requires grass roots participation, of course, and the initiative and referendum systems are usually good venues for the average voter. In Oregon, during the past decade, this has been increasingly abused by some vested interests. David Broder, who writes a national political column for the Washington Post, has covered this topic frequently and highlighted the process here in Oregon as an example of a good idea gone nearly bad. A local anti-tax campaigner named Sizemore has been the state's most prolific author of initiatives on statewide ballots for at least a decade and wielded enormous power re: what got said and what didn't. He also owns a business that collects signatures. It's been disclosed he has been heavily underwritten by a big donor businessman named Loren Parks who by virtue of the fact Oregon has a small philanthropy pool, has influenced government in the state with big checks. Sizemore has fronted Parks efforts, and others, to eliminate the power of unions to collect $5 dues from their membership (even though union members can de-authorize this), and recently lost a key court case brought by the state and national teacher's unions. After voters were alerted to signatures being forged from one petition to another (courtesy of hidden cameras) an initiative last week passed with sound margins prohibiting paying signature-gatherers per signature. Furthermore, outside donors can influence what gets on the ballot just by paying for it. Business interests in Idaho and elsewhere in this region have underwritten campaigns that benefited their business opportunities in Oregon. Sizemore also has a radio talk show, another effective medium. We have to minimize special interests getting the biggest voice in government, and the perfect solution still eludes us, but the process is gaining support, and more critically, gradual awareness of its intrusive nature. When a lobbyist can tell a politician that $30,000 and more in campaign debts can be eliminated in one night, that tends to be very tempting. Sizemore, incidentally, was recently convicted of repeated tax evasion, the victim of greed and a former employee who turned state's witness. The state AG is now moving to put him out of his initiative business, and requiring signed affidavits that similar businesses do not receive funds from 3rd parties, thus removing another chapter in the state's history of one special interest dominating the debate. Please don't rely on my wordy summary, see the Oregonian article at http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_stand ard.xsl?/base/front_page/1036768564270181.xml. We'll see what happens next. Karen Watters Cole East of Portland, West of Mt Hood
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