So much of American politics has always been about money. Many elections over the past 75 years have been affected dramatically by the amount of money that a candidate raised and was able to spend on a campaign at any level. Campaigns became national and media transcended the place of many rallies, whistle-stop tours, and open-car drive caravans. Radio and then television became the medium to deliver messages. The public’s attention was now focused on the visual which were inundating television stations.
Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the subsequent 2014 case McCutcheon v. the FEC, monies spent on political campaigns have skyrocketed. These decisions opened up the opportunity to permit corporate giving and the removal of many caps for individual donations. As a result, the public became overwhelmed with advertising. What began as leaflets and mailings grew into the huge internet saturation by candidates and affiliated organizations. The growth of political action committees (PACs) and extensive corporate giving changed the entire landscape of political fund-raising. As never before, the aphorism of former California state political leader, Jesse Unruh rang forth proclaiming more than 35 years ago and even more obscene today, “money is the mother’s milk of politics.
For purposes of perspective the Bush-Gore race in 2000 cost $1.4 billion with the all the 2000 elections spending totaling $3.8 billion. In 2020 both the Trump and Biden campaigns together spent a total of $5.7 billion with all federal races totaling $8.9 billion. The expectation is that the 2024 races could well exceed a total of $15.0 billion. (This despite the fact that there was only minimal competition for the presidential nomination in both parties.)
Perhaps this is why so many people were almost immune when they heard that President Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were holding a Democratic Party fund-raiser at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. People barely lost a beat at the news that it raised in excess of the targeted $25 million goal. It was also then announced that former President Trump was holding his own fund-raiser in Mar-a-Lago in Florida which he announced would raise even more money.
It is not only the extreme costs that campaigns at all levels must now raise, but also the hundreds of million dollars in penalties and fines that now have been levelled against Trump just in the lawsuits against him which have been resolved to date. The American voters are watching a former president and now presidential aspirant whose alleged wealth was in the billions scrounging about for cash to pay his legal fees and court assessments. His supporters are rallying to his side to facilitate his efforts. They are purchasing former President Trump’s high-top sneakers as well as MAGA Bibles to enable him to raise money for the court costs incurred as well as additions to his campaign budget.
The extent to which the American public is immune to preposterous costs is also visible when one recognizes that few Americans responded to President Biden’s budget presented to Congress last month which called for expenses of approximately $7.3 trillion dollars for fiscal year 1925. While the deficit is projected to continue to expand in the forthcoming fiscal year, the rate of growth is on track to be at a slower pace than at present. The White House is projecting the budget for fiscal year 2025, continues believe that the economy will grow and Government will expand over the next decade while reducing the size of the annual deficit in the years ahead.
These relatively positive numbers, however, do not help many Americans who are dissatisfied with their personal economic situation. More Americans are employed, wages are higher, and there are more jobs available than there have been in years. While inflation may be more under control, many Americans cannot relate to that fact when they purchase their grocery staples. Costs of healthcare--despite Obamacare—is exceedingly worrisome for many Americans as are housing costs.
Many political consultants continue to suggest that despite the cultural wars waging in America, many voters next November once again will be voting their pocketbook. For Americans as Sally Bowles said in Cabaret, it’s “Money makes the world go round.”
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