Dean supporters only: should Dean opt out of FEC Matching Funds?

[Larkspur]

In anticipation of Howard Dean's noontime address in New York City, I ask my fellow Howard Dean DU supporters The Question --
Should the Dean for America Campaign opt out of FEC matching Funds?

Please only those supporting Howard Dean take this poll. I will do another for everyone else in another thread.

Here's the beginning of Dean's message to his supporters...

I am writing to place the most important decision of this campaign in your hands. We need to choose whether we will decline federal matching funds or accept them.

Our political system is drowning in a flood of large corporate interest money. The pens that sign the checks of the lobbyists in Washington are the same pens that write our legislation.

Oil corporations write energy laws in the Vice-President’s office. The pharmaceutical industry drafts our Medicare laws. Billions of dollars worth of contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan are awarded to Bush contributors. For the Republican primary election, even though he has no opponent, George Bush is raising $200 million from large corporate interests.

The Bush campaign is selling our democracy so they can crush their Democratic opponent.
<More... http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=voteemail>

What is your vote Howard Dean DU'rs and please explain why you voted the way you did?

[Hep]

1. I hate to say it

but yes. It bothers me to the core, though, that it has to be this way.

[Kira]

3. Why do you hate this choice?

I think he should too. I think we should take the gamble and see how much we can raise ourselves. If he takes the matching funds he can't raise any other money. That's crazy.

on edit:
PS What are the other candidates doing?

[Hep]

17. I hate it because

I don't think elections should be about money. I don't like perpetuating the idea that the guy with the most money wins.

I was hoping the Dean campaign would make 200 million dollars irrelevant, but instead we're going to grant the right's premise AGAIN, which is that money is more important than people.

[Arianrhod]

32. I don't see it that way.

I see our raising the money ourselves as being a vibrant challenge to the reigning powers: Put us down long enough, and we'll use your own tactics to bring you down.

Being able to raise the money also lets other voters see that Dean is a serious contender. That in itself may sway a few votes our way. :)

[Demobrat]

2. I don't see that he has any choice.

It's opt out or concede to Bush now.

[mandyky]

4. I still have mixed feelings, but

Yes if an overwhelming majority of his supporters vote to opt out, I say OPT OUT.

[Gin]

5. Im not sure what it means..I can't give a whole lot more...explain this to

me..I understand he wont get matching funds from the government..but does that eliminate any amount limits from supporters?

[mandyky]

8. Check the web site

They have all this info separated into 3 or 4 different things, I do not understand it very well myself so I'd botch explaining what this allows, etc.

[Larkspur]

10. No, by opting out Dean's supporters can give until we reach our

individual contribution limit of $2,000 per year.

By staying in, the FEC will put a noose around Dean's neck -- spending caps -- and Bush will be free to bombard the airwaves from April to August with the greatest distortion blitzkrieg in the history of American politics.

[HFishbine]

28. Limits still in place

He would give up $19M in federal funds if he opted out. So, essentially, supporters would have to raise $19M + before he started to reap any benefits from giving up those funds. (Can he do it? Probably.)

Contribution limits remain in place though. No individual will be allowed to contribute more than $2,000 under either scenario. Dean just may not be able to spend all of those contributions if he accepts the federal matching funds.

I've thought about this for a while, and I'm going to vote for him to forego the spending limts and mathching funds. Yestreday's elections showed that too many voters still make their decisions on name-recognition and sound bites. Now is not the time for a campaign to try to make a point about campaign finance. Getting the message out is far more important.

[demnan]

6. Yes, have faith, opt out and raise the money

I never was in favor of the matching funds thing anyway. Really let's show the Republicans there are more of us than them, even if they are richer than us.

[MoonAndSun]

7. bush* will have unlimited milliions to try and steal the 2004 election,

we have to fight fire with fire. I voted YES.

[Cha]

24. Can you imagine every energized Democrat sending in

from $10.00 to $2000.00 buckeroos!?

[Ficus]

9. Dean will be remembered

I heard Dick Morris, who I hate, make this assertion, but it's true. He said that Howard Dean will be crushed by Bush, but will forever be remembered for discovering that it's easier to raise clean money over the internet than dirty money the old fashioned way.

[Cha]

23. Fortunately....dick is wrong about Dean being

"crushed" by bush! Glad that little sucker isn't right about everything.

[dsc]

11. Two words

Mayor Bloomberg. Mark Green lost that race in large part to being unable to match Bloomberg's spending and media presence. Every Democratic candidate who shows an ability to raise the necessary money should opt out. This is a no brainer. The one thing I would do if I were Dean is to say in no uncertain terms that if the other candidates stay within matching fund limits then so will he during the contested phase of the primary campaign. Once he has locked it up then he can go above the limit running ads against Bush.

[Larkspur]

12. Until everyone plays by the same campaign finance rules, I say opt out

Bush will murder the Dem nominee who takes FEC matching funds and since Dean's campaign is publicly financed and follows the spirit of the campaign finance reform rules, Dean can opt out with a good conscience.

The goal is to beat Bush and send him packing back to Crawford with his tail between his legs, and the only way Dean can do this is by having the freedom to spend what WE give him.

[livinontheedge]

13. Dean is up against the GOP money machine.

He needs to have NO LIMITATIONS whatsoever to defend himself against Bush's multi-million dollar attacks that will occur between March/April and the democratic convention.

[flpoljunkie]

14. You want want to read this from today's LA Times...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-dean5nov05,1,4955509.story?coll=la-home-leftrail

Last week, while campaigning in California, Dean told potential supporters he had already decided to forgo public financing, according to people who attended the closed-door sessions.

A strategist at Dean headquarters insisted, however, that the candidate's mind was not made up.

"This is a binding vote," the strategist said Tuesday night. "Whatever our supporters decide is what this campaign is going to do."

[knowledgeispower]

26. Are you insinuating that the vote is a sham?

Don't let your love for Kerry blind you from the fact that all of the democratic nominee hopefuls are good, decent people who would be far better for ALL Americans than Bush.

[flpoljunkie]

33. Decide for yourself.

You might want to direct that question to the Dean campaign.

As for the rest of your post, it is totally unresponsive to the matter at hand--that is, if Dean's campaign has already made up its mind re foregoing the limits of campaign contributions.

[unfrigginreal]

15. Voted to opt out

I don't really understand why the campaign is posing the question. They've already proven that the vast majority of their funds are from small donors, so why wouldn't that be a good thing?

[Larkspur]

16. The point about our vote is that Dean's campaign is about inclusiveness

and he's asking us to participate in the decision making process.

Based on the reality of the Bush fundraising and Dean's, I wouldn't be surprised if Dean and Trippi know that the odds increase for them to defeat Bush by opting out and I'm sure that is what they want to do, but this campaign is about ALL of us and it's nice that he's asking for our input. He's also leveling with us about our responsibility to contribute and get more contributers to help fund his campaign.

Also, WE provide the best media PR cover against attacks by Kerry, et all, if we decided that opting out is the best strategy.

[sangh0]

18. Dean betrays another liberal idea

.

[Cha]

22. Dean isn't "betraying" anything...Dean is Progress

personified!

[sendero]

25. "another liberal idea"

Of defending against a machine gun with a pea shooter?

Ideas are great but we're stuck in the real world. Your kind of thinking is keeping Dems a marginalized party. We need money to win in 2004, no amount of wishful thinking and high ideals is going to change that.

[knowledgeispower]

27. Yep

I wish it wasn't true, but the cold hard fact is that Bush plans to win this election by outspending the Democrats in a big way. History has shown that to be a pretty effective strategy, so the Dems need to counter it. Kudos to Dean for finally finding a way to do it without being a whore for the same corporate masters.

[Cha]

30. Really! They are just so ingenious geniuses over

there.. leading our Campaign!

[RogueTrooper]

19. I voted yes

It is the only way to beat Bush.

[Gin]

20. I voted yes....and will do I can to help him beat that thug in our white

house...this is exciting...I feel more included than I ever have.

Buh-bye chimp.

[Cha]

29. I don't have my "ballot" yet but that's

okay! SAys they're going to send it on Thursday! It's going to be a Full Moon Announcement on Saturday! :)

[Cha]

21. I don't have any "mixed feellings" about it...I say

Full STeam ahead! These People leading our Campaign know what they're doin' and if this needs to be the next step then so be it! I just think it's way considerate for them to be taking a vote :kick:

edit~ typo

[denverbill]

31. Yes. Definitely.

Ideally, someday we'll have a way to publicly finance campaigns that is fair to all parties.

Until then, it's time us little guys started doing our part. Multimillionaires can drop $2000 without noticing it, but us little guys outnumber millionaires by 100 to 1. If each of us 100 little guys contributes $20, we can beat the corporatists are their own game. Corporatist Republicans AND Democrats.