Iyow - in your own words

The current presidential election is on its way to breaking all fundraising records. According to OpenSecrets.org, this election has already surpassed the entire 2004 presidential cycle in total money raised—$895 million compared to $864 million. And we’re just getting started.

Barack Obama has raised a whopping $235 million to date. Hillary Clinton has pulled in $189 million and Republican John McCain has surged to nearly $100 million since becoming the nominee. The vast majority of these contributions have come from individuals like you and me. And so, my question for those thousands of generous and passionate donors out there is this: Which part of the election have you liked best so far?

Was it the fact that the Democratic primary gave us our first televised debate in history that treated name calling and character assassination as virtually the only worthy topic of conversation? Maybe it was Hillary Clinton’s revival of the infamous Southern Strategy, relying on not-so-veiled appeals to racial prejudice to win. Or maybe it was the spectacle of an Obama adviser whispering in the ear of a concerned Canadian official something to the effect of, “Don’t worry about the anti-NAFTA rhetoric. That’s just the stuff we have to say to win elections.” Or maybe it’s McCain’s public delousing to remove evangelists that somehow got embedded in the skin of his campaign, including Texan John Hagee, author of the notion that God sent Hitler to help the Jews reach the promise land.

Laying aside for a moment that Barack Obama is fun to listen to so long as he stays away from that pesky area known as policy, most of us can probably agree that this election has been one of the most vapid spectacles in a long history of vapid spectacles served up by American politicians. It hasn’t advanced a single policy proposal worthy of note with regards to pressing issues like health care reform, global warming, America’s unequal education system, or oil dependency. It has generated some fantastically foolish campaign promises, however, like Obama’s proposal to unilaterally rewrite NAFTA (as if), or Hillary’s helpful gas-tax-holiday suggestion, the energy policy equivalent of using Happy Meals to combat obesity (the portions are smaller!).

Don’t get me wrong. I am not a cynic. I’m not one of those people who Obama likes to suggest just lacks the courage to believe in change as much as he does. I just think that giving money to politicians is a funny way to go about making change. What have politicians ever given us but more of the same? Ever stop to wonder why that is? Think maybe it might have something to do with the fact that we give them hundreds of millions of dollars to spend tricking people (via TV and radio) into voting for them based on superficial mumbo jumbo instead of based on realistic and sincere policy commitments? Could there be a link there, maybe?

I am all for increased involvement in the political process by all Americans. And if you are somebody who truly believes that having one party in power instead of another is the answer to intractable problems like health care, global warming and oil dependency, then by all means continue betting on the horse race. But if you think that maybe politicians do the things they do primarily in order to remain popular rather than out of any burning desire to see change, then I respectfully suggest that you give your money to organizations that are genuinely committed to making the change you’d like to see – organizations like Health Care for All, StopGlobalWarming.org, or the National Resource Defense Council, to name but a few. I’m not endorsing these specific organizations – and no doubt their effectiveness will vary. But you can generally trust them not to change their agenda overnight based on a poll.

Once you find the right organization for you, don’t just give money, but work with them in every way that you can to pressure the politicians into doing things they otherwise have no incentive – and possibly precious little desire – to do. Accept what any good lobbyist already knows – that your best political ally isn’t Democrat or Republican, but the one who just can’t afford to piss you off right now.

In short, don’t give politicians money. Don’t start buying their T-shirts and bumper stickers and start declaring yourself a citizen of Obama Nation or Hillarylandia or DeathtoIranville. If you need to identify with some organization for emotional reasons, even when you know – perhaps because you know – that they will let you down, then turn to major league baseball. As for politicians, if you want to give them something, give them deadlines. Because I’ll tell you this much: If our mandate for a Barack Obama presidency is nothing more than the word “change,” then you’d better be ready for more of the same.