President Obama will likely become the first ever incumbent President to be outraised by his opponent in his re-election bid. And in a desperate attempt to even the playing field just slightly before November – the President has been forced to hold endless fundraisers. As the Center for American Progress reveals, President Obama has already held nearly 200 fundraisers during his first term in office. To put that in perspective, George. W Bush held slightly more than 80, and President Clinton held roughly 70. But in the post-Citizens United era when billionaires can dump their fortunes into our elections, then politicians are forced to endlessly raise money. And it's not just President Obama, Members of Congress are stuck in this trap, too. If the average House Member spent 40 hours a week fundraising, he or she would need to raise, on average, $367 an hour. For a Senator, $819 an hour. This is one of the biggest problems facing our democracy. We elect our representatives to go to Washington and represent our interests. But in reality what they do is fundraise, fundraise, fundraise – giving those with deep pockets more influence than average voters like you and me. To fix this – we need to get money out of politics. Go to MoveToAmend.org.
I'm not sure comparing the number of fundraisers between Obama and Bush is fair because of the Citizen's United decision.
ReplyDeleteCan it be anymore obvious that our country has been sold by the politicians to the special interests? We are rotten from the inside out.
141-Obama has attended more campaign fundraising events than the last 5 Presidents combined. Remember, Obama was the one who initially agreed to McCains' offer of only using public funding. Of course, Obama later decided against that.
ReplyDeleteWorth noting is that both Clinton & G W Bush served two terms (8 years) so the comparison is even more stark.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you're right!
ReplyDeletethat's all he's ever done, what he does best, ...fund raise.
ReplyDeleteThe citizens love this. Politicians who are paid to run the country, yet spend the MAJORITY of their time campaigning and raising money (to repeat the cycle an endless number of times). obama can't reduce the unemployment numbers, solve the debt crisis, get the banksters under control, fix the student debt issue, or stop the open bribing of our leaders. But has PLENTY of time for golf, travel, and fundraising. Being President is a tough job. He should try it...
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