Is Getting Elected to Office Hampered by The Lack of Funds
Dennis AuBuchon
January 21, 2009
Currently the answer to that question I believe is yes. This past election was one where there was a wide disparity of funding for various candidates running for President. The news media constantly focused on the amount of money candidates received for their campaign vs. their platform and issues. This was a distraction to some extent. To make this statement clearer just because a candidate does not receive as much money as another does not mean they are any less qualified to run for office. Less funding creates problems with running for any office whether it is for President or the local city council government.
This is a scenario which needs to change and with the current technology there are avenues to make that change. The political process is not an easy one for numerous reasons. The first involves being recognized by the voting public as to who you are and what do you stand for. This is not an easy aspect to fix. The technology today with the Internet makes this more viable and attainable. Any individual whether they are running for office or other activity where they want name recognition must have a presence on the Internet. Today many households have computers and there are portable mechanisms which allow access to the Internet.
During an election is a name is unknown it is likely they will not receive as many votes as those whose name may be a household name. This is important in any activity an individual has but especially if that person has desires to serve the public in some capacity. The more a name and their activities are found in search engines the more it is recognized. It is important to have a high percentage of activities on the first ten pages of a search engine to identify the popularity of specific individuals.
Another aspect is the funding. In order to get to locations to speak to groups it sometimes takes money depending upon the office to which an individual wishes to be elected. The more encompassing the area an office covers the more it costs to make personal speeches to groups. Beginning with the local city council it does not take much money to travel within the city limits to speak to groups at various locations. This all changes with the level of office an individual desires to serve. If you are running for a county or state office the area to get your voice heard becomes more difficult. True there is public funding available in many cases but this is often not sufficient. In the 2008 election the wide disparity of campaign financing a candidate received had an impact on what they were able to do. This kind of limitation created situations where money had to be wisely spent. Many of the candidates had their own sites with information about them and their philosophy and experience.
The election process today seems a difficult at best. I feel there are many fine candidates who run for office but the public does not get to know them. Those running for office today have to develop new ways to get their message to the voters. One of these is using the resources of the Internet. Current technology offers wide possibilities for communicating ideas and positions on the issues. When I go into a voting booth to cast my vote in any election I find it difficult to vote for individuals I know little or nothing about. I like to be familiar with individuals running for office before I feel comfortable with voting for them. This I feel is a problem many voters face.
While our political process is a good one changes need to be made in the way candidates get their message across to the voters and in the way news organizations cover elections. This applies to all elections whether it is for specific issues or electing individuals to office. The responsibility is not all on the candidates as voters have responsibilities as well. We must learn all we can about candidates running for office and this is regardless of the campaign funds they receive. The amount of campaign funds does not necessarily relate to the best qualified for specific offices. We need to look at candidates positions on the issues and news organizations need to provide comparisons between candidates. This gives voters a method to compare the candidates and their positions. I applaud news organizations that provide this type of information but it must be complete and reliable or the decisions made on the information will be flawed.
To summarize lack of funding does create situations where unknown candidates have limitations on traveling to areas where decisions will be made to elect them or not. Candidates running for office need to develop other resources to get their name recognized and their positions on the issues important to voters. Just because candidates do not receive large amounts of funding compared to other candidates does not mean they are not a viable candidate voters will like. While candidates work on getting recognized voters need to work on getting background information that is reliable on candidates for office. This applies not only to presidential candidates but candidates for any office. We elect individuals to serve us in some capacity and we need to be comfortable with those we put in office. Local political offices are just as important as state and national. We as individuals should not make decisions about candidates based upon the amount of campaign funds they receive. Receiving funding does not necessarily mean a candidate is right for specific offices and not receiving funds does not mean candidates are not right for specific offices.
Voters in the United States are smart and given the opportunity to access accurate information about candidates running for office will help them make good decisions. There are many sources of information about candidates including their own web sites in some cases. This source can be a good perspective to learn about the background of candidates and why they are running for office. A new era of politics needs to be generated one which does not depend upon campaign funding but the issues and candidates positions on them. Another factor to consider involves recommendations by other individuals for candidates running for office. While these may signal some good feelings it is up to us as individuals to make our own decisions and not base them on the recommendations of others.
This is a scenario which needs to change and with the current technology there are avenues to make that change. The political process is not an easy one for numerous reasons. The first involves being recognized by the voting public as to who you are and what do you stand for. This is not an easy aspect to fix. The technology today with the Internet makes this more viable and attainable. Any individual whether they are running for office or other activity where they want name recognition must have a presence on the Internet. Today many households have computers and there are portable mechanisms which allow access to the Internet.
During an election is a name is unknown it is likely they will not receive as many votes as those whose name may be a household name. This is important in any activity an individual has but especially if that person has desires to serve the public in some capacity. The more a name and their activities are found in search engines the more it is recognized. It is important to have a high percentage of activities on the first ten pages of a search engine to identify the popularity of specific individuals.
Another aspect is the funding. In order to get to locations to speak to groups it sometimes takes money depending upon the office to which an individual wishes to be elected. The more encompassing the area an office covers the more it costs to make personal speeches to groups. Beginning with the local city council it does not take much money to travel within the city limits to speak to groups at various locations. This all changes with the level of office an individual desires to serve. If you are running for a county or state office the area to get your voice heard becomes more difficult. True there is public funding available in many cases but this is often not sufficient. In the 2008 election the wide disparity of campaign financing a candidate received had an impact on what they were able to do. This kind of limitation created situations where money had to be wisely spent. Many of the candidates had their own sites with information about them and their philosophy and experience.
The election process today seems a difficult at best. I feel there are many fine candidates who run for office but the public does not get to know them. Those running for office today have to develop new ways to get their message to the voters. One of these is using the resources of the Internet. Current technology offers wide possibilities for communicating ideas and positions on the issues. When I go into a voting booth to cast my vote in any election I find it difficult to vote for individuals I know little or nothing about. I like to be familiar with individuals running for office before I feel comfortable with voting for them. This I feel is a problem many voters face.
While our political process is a good one changes need to be made in the way candidates get their message across to the voters and in the way news organizations cover elections. This applies to all elections whether it is for specific issues or electing individuals to office. The responsibility is not all on the candidates as voters have responsibilities as well. We must learn all we can about candidates running for office and this is regardless of the campaign funds they receive. The amount of campaign funds does not necessarily relate to the best qualified for specific offices. We need to look at candidates positions on the issues and news organizations need to provide comparisons between candidates. This gives voters a method to compare the candidates and their positions. I applaud news organizations that provide this type of information but it must be complete and reliable or the decisions made on the information will be flawed.
To summarize lack of funding does create situations where unknown candidates have limitations on traveling to areas where decisions will be made to elect them or not. Candidates running for office need to develop other resources to get their name recognized and their positions on the issues important to voters. Just because candidates do not receive large amounts of funding compared to other candidates does not mean they are not a viable candidate voters will like. While candidates work on getting recognized voters need to work on getting background information that is reliable on candidates for office. This applies not only to presidential candidates but candidates for any office. We elect individuals to serve us in some capacity and we need to be comfortable with those we put in office. Local political offices are just as important as state and national. We as individuals should not make decisions about candidates based upon the amount of campaign funds they receive. Receiving funding does not necessarily mean a candidate is right for specific offices and not receiving funds does not mean candidates are not right for specific offices.
Voters in the United States are smart and given the opportunity to access accurate information about candidates running for office will help them make good decisions. There are many sources of information about candidates including their own web sites in some cases. This source can be a good perspective to learn about the background of candidates and why they are running for office. A new era of politics needs to be generated one which does not depend upon campaign funding but the issues and candidates positions on them. Another factor to consider involves recommendations by other individuals for candidates running for office. While these may signal some good feelings it is up to us as individuals to make our own decisions and not base them on the recommendations of others.
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