Axelrod: Obama will be first president to be outspent by opponent —

[kpete]

Axelrod: Obama will be first president to be outspent by opponent — Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod on Thursday said he wasn’t surprised that his campaign hadn’t raised as much money as Mitt Romney’s campaign. “You pick up all the money that you couldn’t raise in the primary from Republicans who were supporting other candidates,” Axelrod told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “So we anticipated this.” Politico has reported that Republican groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads GPS and Americans For Prosperity plan to spend approximately $1 billion on November’s elections. The Romney campaign and Republican National Committee plan to raise an additional $800 million. “We are going to be the first president to be outspent,” Axelrod added. “Not because of what Romney is raising, but because of the Super PACs. When you have people like the Koch Brothers, who just were so active in Wisconsin, say they are going to spend $400 million to impact this race, that’s more than John McCain and the Republican Party spent in total the last time.” – Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/07/axelrod-obama-will-be-first-president-to-be-outspent-by-opponent/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20TheRawStory%20(The%20Raw%20Story)

[corkhead]

1. Obama will probably be re-elected in spite of this, but something needs to be done

about unlimited corporate spending before 2016 or our democracy as we know it is toast.

[luckyleftyme2]

11. not if he plays nice

His speech today opened a can of beans. He needs to be more forcefull. He needs to point out strongly so that "joe the plummer " pete the butcher etc hear it. these guys are working two jobs and scrambling to survive! they need to hear it at work,coffee breaks etc as the topic of conversation!
here's romney talking about the working class and his father was a millionare! what the hell he was getting a manicure while I was getting callouses!

[cali]

2. and that's why I disagree with the first post in this thread

Romney will likely beat the President because in our sick as shit system it's all about the bucks.

[emulatorloo]

3. It is going to be damn close. No Obama landslide no matter how we might want to delude ourselves.

[McCamy Taylor]

7. It won't be the money, it will be the GOP election fraud. DOJ needs to get medieval.

[KurtNYC]

4. Campaigns today can target and budget better than ever before

there is more data and it is collected more often. Both sides will pour it into swing states and focus on the soft minds. Going to be crazy again in swing states -- wall to wall ads. While in New York there will be nothing.

They are going to buy a billion dollar sh*t storm. Nevada is already buried.

Never before has so much been spent to sway so few.

[Chorophyll]

5. This is absolutely f*cking terrifying.

First of all, that there's even this much money around to be spent! But we have to cut food stamps, right?

I wish it was possible to start from scratch. Tell each candidate that they get $500 for their entire campaign. Spend it wisely, and good luck.

Citizens United must be overturned, for a start.

[mazzarro]

6. Axelrod might want to rephrase his comment

As long as CU is left to stand, Obama will be the first President to be outspent. And no Democrat will come close to matching the worst rePIGlican nominees in any future elections for the presidency. In addition, Democrat presidents will become very rare judging by the idiocy of the average voter today.

[hughee99]

10. I don't think that's true...

Perhaps at first, but eventually, Democratic nominees will adopt whatever policies the big money people want and it will balance out. For the people controlling the elections, they don't want to put all their money in one party and hope for a win, they want both parties supporting their same policies so they win either way. Future nominees will "sell out". It's up for debate whether that's happened already.

[mazzarro]

14. So you mean that they will maintain a facade of two party system

Last edited Fri Jun 8, 2012, 07:54 PM - Edit history (1)

If by that you mean that the Texas and Florida examples where you have a more or less one overwhelmingly strong party and a "banana" party, then goodluck. I don't think that is what I will consider a minority party adjusting to balance things out.

[hughee99]

17. Yes.

If candidates can't win because they don't have the financial backing, then "electable" candidate will be the ones with financial backing. To get this backing, they'll sell out. I'm not saying it's something I'm in favor of, but that's what will happen. The "money" will make sure both candidates will do what they want, and there will just be the facade of a two party system.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. What this story really tells us...

...is that Axelrod is much smarter than anyone in the GOP. Content is scary. The story itself is well planned and executed. Bravo!

[Mponti]

9. Worst case

CU stays and Democrats become even more corporatist to survivd. Goodbye new deal party...welcome booker and cuomo

[Mutiny In Heaven]

12. Well that's inevitable if CU becomes enshrined

, a certainty if Romney wins.

Democrats will have to kiss Koch's ring in order to stand a chance, and that's not something you could reasonably blame them for.

If you have to agree to keep slashing taxes and ridding the country of work and health regulations in order to stand a chance, as a politician, that's what you'd have to do. It's either that or let the opposition run the country for perpetuity.

[tclambert]

15. Hey, you have the right to spend $400 million dollars on the election, too.

You say you don't have that much? Well, borrow it from you parents.

[dotymed]

23. In that case,

in reality there would not be an "opposition party. Just corporatism...

[Mutiny In Heaven]

25. Well, yes, exactly

Both parties will have to out-right (wing) the other on economic policy, so the choice will be rendered purely on a social level.

[Enrique]

13. keep in mind how extremely unpopular Romney is

their base (voter base) hates him, we hate him, but it doesn't matter because he's getting all that money. He has the corporation-people, he doesn't need the people-people.

[AverageJoe90]

18. Which is why an Obama landslide may not be possible.

[jtuck004]

16. Just put the damn election on ebay. n/t

[SGMRTDARMY]

20. If that weren't so close to the truth

it would be funny.

[jtuck004]

21. That's what people seem to be treating this like, as if money is the only

Last edited Sat Jun 9, 2012, 03:18 PM - Edit history (1)

thing that decides. Important? Yes. More important than a message and actions that underscore that message? No.

Money can never overcome human spirit. The question is more how good a person/party is at persuading and educating, at awakening that spirit. You don't see it very often, but when you do it can be amazing.

[kemah]

19. The big problem, it that their is only a finite amount of air time.

Having the money to buy ads, but their is only so much air time to buy. Obama has a strong ground game and a voter registration game plan. Romney is a very flawed candidate, he will self-destruct with his gaffes and with his very poor showing at the debates.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. Shows that the GOP cannot run on merit, the issues and that they are desperate

the GOP is not worthy of being elected. America should not be bought.

[gulliver]

24. I hope Obama invites the Koch Brothers to the debates.

Why not talk to the bosses directly? Romney is just a mouthpiece.