Dec 09 2009
originally posted by Will Urquhart at Sum of Change
Last week, we covered the basics of managing and organizing a campaign budget. If you know little-to-nothing about campaign finance but would like to, or if you are just about to start putting together the budget for a campaign, you should definitely check out last week’s Training Tuesday. Today is not for the basics. Instead, we are using this Training Tuesday to share with you four very important tips that will help you out along the way:
Dec 02 2009
Originally posted by Will Urquhart (Rusty5329) at Sum of Change. Please check out the new comment widget from Ameritocracy that we just recently installed at the bottom of every page at Sum of Change
Every political campaign and organization must spend money to maintain serious levels of activity. Increasingly, campaigns must raise significant amounts of money to become and remain competitive. Although we can protest the growing costs of campaigning, the reality for any campaign is that without these funds, there can be no staff, no office, no phones, no computers, no signs, no media coverage – no campaign.
-From the Democracy for America Campaign Academy Training Manual
Jan 09 2009
The Two Santa Claus Theory is a political theory and strategy developed by Jude Wanniski in 1976, which he promoted within the U.S. Republican Party. –snip
The theory states that, in democratic elections, if one party appeals to voters by proposing more spending, then a competing party cannot gain broader appeal by proposing less spending. The “Santa Claus” of the theory title refers to the political party that promises spending. Instead, “Two Santa Claus Theory” recommends that the competing party must assume the role of a second Santa Claus by offering other appealing options.
This theory is a response to the belief of monetarists, and especially Milton Friedman, that the government must be starved of revenue in order to control the growth of spending (since, in the view of the monetarists, spending cannot be reduced by elected bodies as the political pressure to spend is too great). Monetarism is a set of views concerning the determination of national income and monetary economics. … Milton Friedman (born July 31, 1912) is a U.S. economist, known primarily for his work on macroeconomics and for his advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism. …
“Two Santa Claus Theory” does not argue against this belief, but holds that such arguments cannot be espoused in an effort to win democratic elections. In Wanniski’s view, the Laffer curve and supply-side economics provide an attractive alternative rationale for revenue reduction: that the economy will grow, not merely that the government will be starved of revenue. Wanniski argued that Republicans must become the tax-cutting Santa Claus to the Democrats spending Santa Claus.
And the beat goes on….
Feb 07 2008
Also posted at orange
No, it’s not because he is a former P.O.W. and conservatives like that in a candidate, and it’s not because he’s a self proclaimed “maverick”. Harold Myerson thinks it’s because he exemplifies, to conservatives, an alternative to Rovian Politics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
(I think you need a [free] subscription to WaPo to read this, I’ll take a few fair use paragraphs below for those that don’t want to provide WaPo an email address)