[Durham INC] Durham News Article: Durham Progressives Are the Big-Money Candidates

[Melissa Rooney]

Here, here, Tom.

Might I add --

Dick Ford's commentary tells us nothing new. 


U.S. politics has 
unfortunately been governed by corporate and wealthy citizens' donations for decades now. The difference is the new legislation allowing for a SuperPAC that can use unlimited funds from a single person or company to campaign for a special (self-) interest. (Politicians generally acknowledge that big money campaigns and lobbying are a problem, so what do they do? Enable SuperPACs! Ain't that America....)


PA is not a SuperPAC.


The difference between the People's Alliance 
and the SDD SuperPAC is that the PA is made up of Durham citizens, a lot of them, each of whom have a vote on how the PA responds to the issues and 
on its election endorsements. 


This SuperPAC has only one member--the outside 
development company, Southern Durham development. It doesn't take a 
rocket scientist to see where their interests lie.

Melissa



________________________________
 From: Tom Clark <tomc at nc.rr.com>
To: Darius.M.Little at alumni.unc.edu 
Cc: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org; INC <inc-list at rtpnet.org> 
Sent: Sunday, 6 May 2012 12:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Durham News Article: Durham Progressives Are the Big-Money Candidates
 

No 'beat-down here,' Darius.  Just the same old argument that the increasingly fewer wealthy have always used to attempt to discredit more popular political movements.

Who really believes that out-of-state, never mind "European," interests, by making a donation to Wendy Jacobs campaign, are attempting to influence Durham politics in a way comparable to the efforts of  the 751 Super PAC ?  What about the much more likely scenario that some old friends, perhaps Duke classmates, of Ms. Jacobs, one of whom is now living in Denmark, donate a few dollars to what they perceive as local good causes?   This is hardly the bulk of Ms. Jacobs support; how could those folks possibly have as much at stake here as the 751 developers?  In any case, we can be sure that the amount they donated is not very large.  Two reasons:
  1)  the campaign finance laws that are currently on the books, and threatened by the Citizens United, 'money-is- speech,' mind-set, would require declaration of any large amount and 
  2) Mr. Ford would have certainly reported on the amount, if it was significant, or could be made to look so.  

No, rather than some journalistic coup, this is the usual politics of desparation and exaggeration that attends most campaigns, certainly those in which the principle weapon available to one side is the ability to raise quick cash. 

It's also a continuation of an increasingly weird back and forth:  
     --Populists propose campaign finance reforms to put the 'demo' (people) back in democracy; 
     --the wealthy few feel threatened because their main way of influencing elections is put at risk; 
     --as a result, they defeat or water-down the reforms; and then the progressives out-fundraise them anyway as, through sheer persistence on the part of the left, more and more of the business community comes to realize they are right about the merits of the issue, as both the transportation tax and Amendment One issues (see comments of Vinroot, Tillis, Ellmers etc)--not to mention the whole Civil Rights movement--demonstrate;
     --Rinse and repeat:  The rich get richer and the poor get organized.

Imaginative try, Mr. Ford.

TC


On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 11:13 PM, Darius Mercedes Little <Darius.M.Little at alumni.unc.edu> wrote:

No matter what Political Party one is in, I always enjoy good writing, based in research and factual basis.
>
>To that I must say: Dick just laid a major beatdown on somebody.....very interesting information.
>
>
>
>
>-------------------------
>Darius M. Little
>Executive Business Consultant  and
>Strategic Marketing Analyst
>
>(web) www.linkedin.com/in/dariuslittle
> 
>Manta Business Profile/Report: 
>http://www.manta.com/c/mtlwj1m/little-s-business-consulting
>
> 
>"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." [Matt 21:22]
>
> 
> 
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard Ford <rbford at aim.com>
>Sender: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org
>Date: Sat, 5 May 2012 23:05:43
>To: INC<inc-list at rtpnet.org>
>Subject: [Durham INC] Durham News Article: Durham Progressives Are the
>       Big-Money Candidates
>
>
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-- 
Tom Clark
919-274-7463
tomcie at gmail.com

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