Roemer, First Out of the Box!
Buddy Roemer, former governor of Louisiana and a former Congressman, received $100,000 in matching funds from the Federal Election Commission today. He was the first presidential candidate this year to apply for funds and be declared eligible, having raised over $340,000 so far. This compares to Mitt Romney’s bonanza of $56 million.
Roemer has restricted donations to $100 or less, unlike other candidates. Though he is running on the Republican ticket, his name has been bandied about as a possible third party candidate as he has taken a moderate stance on a number of issues.
Kudos to Roemer for his willingness to compete against the big bucks with small donations and matching funds. While this may be due to Roemer’s inability to collect the big bucks, his stance is still something to be lauded. His quixotic run for the presidency may get nowhere, but he’s trying to do it the right way.
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3 Responses to “Roemer, First Out of the Box!”
Well based on all available information, he has my vote.
He might be a place to put a disgruntled voter’s vote. We seldom have a candidate – like John Anderson – that we can use as a protest vote.
Tell us more.
Although I don’t agree with everything on his platform, it is hard not to like Buddy Roemer. He’s got legislative, executive, and private business experience – which is more than most of the candidates can say – and he seems relatively genuine.
His stance on the corrupting influence of money in politics is exactly the sort of thing that needs more exposure, but that stance dooms him in a post Citizens United world.
Buddy has repeatedly pointed out how he is repeatedly excluded from the debates, and I’d hazard a guess that his refusal to take large donations or special interest money is the reason why. The last thing the GOP establishment wants is a candidate standing on a stage in front of millions of television viewers pointing out how they’ve been bought off by corporate sponsors.