{"id":3186,"date":"2008-05-06T00:27:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-06T06:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/05\/give-to-the-red-cross-instead-of-political-campaigns\/"},"modified":"2008-05-06T00:27:00","modified_gmt":"2008-05-06T06:27:00","slug":"give-to-the-red-cross-instead-of-political-campaigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/05\/give-to-the-red-cross-instead-of-political-campaigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Give to the Red Cross instead of political campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Dr. James \u201cJim\u201d Kadlecek<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don\u2019t want them to become politicians in the process.\u201d – John F. Kennedy<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish you wouldn\u2019t run for office. Politics is such a dirty business.\u201d – My late mother, 1974<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In the line at the supermarket checkout counter the other day, I noticed the headlines on several tabloids, the gossip rags that scandalize and distort American free-speech rights. \u201cHillary<\/a> Gay Love Scandal,\u201d \u201cObama<\/a> Marriage Explodes.\u201d I didn\u2019t see one for McCain<\/a>, but I suspect it will be forthcoming.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Our political candidates, like movie and TV stars, are targets for the scandalizers, the paparazzi, the invaders of privacy who seek to profit from the fame of public persons. One wonders why anyone would seek public office these days and subject themselves not only to intense scrutiny, but also to becoming targets for the low-lifes that engage in these sensationalist tactics. But such is the political world in which we live.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Frankly, it\u2019s not too much of a stretch from the excesses of the tabloids to the negative campaigning being conducted by some candidates and the political parties. A significant element of the media, competing for ratings and advertising dollars, engages in reporting that emphasizes negativity, plays up the flaws of our all-too-human candidates and fuels the fires of controversy by reporting and repeating over and over insignificant statements or associations of candidates that have little or no relationship to the important public policy issues that we face. The candidates are forced to play the same game in order to get the media attention they need to attract votes.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s our own fault, I suppose. As many political operatives will tell you, \u201cGoing negative works.\u201d The public, or at least many, apparently want to hear about all the \u201cjuicy\u201d stuff, or the stupid and trivial stuff. I\u2019m afraid it is because our society has become so dumbed down that it\u2019s all we can comprehend, or all that we are willing to listen to.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So, the candidates \u2013 even the really good ones \u2013 play along with what has become a media game, fueled of course by the big money in campaign politics. It\u2019s no secret that campaigns have become big business and are driven by the profit-oriented media, expensive consultants, pollsters, interest groups and political hacks of all sorts. It\u2019s all about the money. You don\u2019t believe it? In 2006, the average amount spent by winners in U.S. House races was $1.3 million. The average Senate winner spent an astonishing $9.6 million.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And, of course, the expensive campaigns lead to the political parties seeking out and supporting candidates who have the financial resources to run these high-dollar campaigns. Persons who have ability, integrity, good ideas and willingness to work hard in public service have a very tough time getting elected because the parties and the political operatives have determined that it\u2019s the money that matters.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The choice in the 2nd District race<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

We are seeing this play out in the 2nd Congressional District primary race between Bill McCamley<\/a> and Harry Teague<\/a>. McCamley is a young, energetic, intelligent candidate who has prepared himself well for public service. He is motivated by a genuine willingness to serve the public. But he\u2019s not rich.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

His opponent Teague is oil rich and has now funded his own campaign with nearly $700,000. In short, he\u2019s trying to buy the election. The sad part is that some members of the Democratic Party establishment are supporting Teague. Why? When I asked a couple of them, they said it\u2019s because he has been a contributor over the years and he has the money to win over voters by buying expensive media, etc.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s the money.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So it comes down to whether 2nd District Democrats are smart enough to vote for hard work and talent or dumb enough to succumb to the influence of money. As for me, I\u2019ll take the candidate who is poor and willing to work.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

By the way, all due respect to my dear departed Mom referenced in the opening quote, my eight-year political experience in the Colorado State Senate was very positive. I found that, for the most part, the people I served with on both sides of the aisle were honest and honorable citizens. They weren\u2019t \u201cspecial\u201d people, just average citizens who were serving their state. They did the best they could. But then \u2013 1974-1982 \u2013 big money in politics wasn\u2019t nearly the factor that it is now. As I recall, my first campaign cost about $3,000.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So, will we ever get the big money out of political campaigns? I\u2019m not optimistic, but I continue to support organizations such as Common Cause<\/a> and the League of Women Voters<\/a> that are fighting the uphill battle. I wish we would follow the advice of Will Rogers<\/a>, who once said, \u201cTake your campaign contributions and send them to the Red Cross<\/a>, and let the elections be decided on merit.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kadlecek<\/a> has lived in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> since 1996, served in the Colorado Legislature and holds a doctorate in public administration. He\u2019s the author of the book \u201cCapitol Rape.\u201d His column runs on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month and other times that he gets fired up about something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. James \u201cJim\u201d Kadlecek \u2018Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don\u2019t want them to become politicians in the process.\u201d – John F. Kennedy \u201cI wish you wouldn\u2019t run for office. Politics is such a dirty business.\u201d – My late mother, 1974 In the line at the supermarket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kadlecek-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}