Primaries: A Challenge to the Last Dollar

According to this article from Italy’s La Stampa,

Money, money, money: this is the word – bipartisan like no other – that will guide the electoral campaigns of the Republican and Democratic candidates through the next four weeks. Objective – to survive with full treasure chests after February 5, when on ‘Super Tuesday’ 22 states will hold their primary votes.

Getting money depends on electoral success. And electoral success depends on getting money.

To the outsider, the American notion that the political spending of money is protected as freedom of speech is strange. It is one of a few important examples of what distinguishes American capitalism from European capitalism: over there, financial and property rights are generally deemed as important as other human rights; over here, it’s as if they are more important – to be protected and exercised at any cost – even to Democracy itself.

That electoral success depends on the courting of sources of funds to buy voters’ opinions using precious time that could otherwise be spent making political arguments directly to the same voters can be deemed undemocratic – especially as funds raised typically come with certain obligations or expectations that no one ever votes for.

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