America’s Biggest Fundraiser

It seems today that political elections are won or lost primarily on the success or failure of fundraising. The days that any average American citizen winning office without connections to “big money” are gone. A couple of years ago, I estimated that it would cost $1 billion ($1,000,000,000) for a presidential election. In June 2011, president Obama proudly announced that he hoped to have $1 billion in his own war chest for reelection in 2012. That’s for ONE candidate. Needless to say, FUNDRAISING has become the number one issue in political elections, not only nationally, but at all levels of political office.

Perhaps you are wondering, from my commentary title, what is the biggest fundraiser in American politics? Can we identify one method, one issue, or one top producer of votes? Sit down! I am willing to give my answer in one word. ENTITLEMENTS! Think back a few years with me. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his administration, more or less invented entitlements. There was a great need for them. They came with good intentions. Entitlements help American citizens regain hope for their future. Government sold the American people on a new concept that their hope in future was in government rescue.

But things have gone terribly wrong these past 70 years. As soon as politicians learned that they could segment society into voting blocs with monetary promises, they could predict their vote getting powers. Since the days of FDR ’till now, the liberal wing of politics has mastered the art of using entitlements much more cleverly than the conservative wing of American politics. Liberals have accomplished this by claiming the high road and by demonizing the conservative politicians as being the greedy and selfish fat cats who want to take away all of the wonderful goodies being dealt out by the “progressive” leaders.

I seriously doubt that the back room (war rooms) where fundraising is plotted, talks much about the humanitarian and philanthropic purposes of entitlements. (We only get those few sound bites and public campaign speeches.) But in the war rooms, I feel pretty certain the talk is about how to get votes. Entitlements are most likely the biggest, the best and the most effective fundraisers in America today.

We have become a nation of people intoxicated by entitlements.

-Chuck Swindoll

Translated and blunted into today’s political arena, that means that liberals have been buying votes with everyone else’s tax money for 70 years.

Fundraisers have become masters at counting how many citizens they can count on to vote for them as long as they keep pumping out the payoff. With whose money? It certainly isn’t theirs.

Americans are the most generous people in the world. And it is a good thing to help out our neighbors who are struggling. Entitlements probably started as an admirable thing. But it is no more. Entitlements have become a payoff for votes just like “pork barrel” is a payoff from individual congressmen. Again, they’re using our money. Money we have given in full faith and with gratitude for being an American. But Congress no longer appreciates it. They demanded, and more and more and more!

So, during the blistering hot summer months of 2011, as Congress and the president go after one another, accusing and counter accusing each other, are they thinking about us… The common, ordinary citizen as they debate what to do by the infamous August 2 deadline, OR, are they thinking about votes and the 2012 election?

What a blessing to be an American and have income to spend on taxes, or to be generous with our fellow man, and enjoy an incredible lifestyle. What a wonderful thing government entitlements could be when used in a real and productive manner in compliance with the American character. But, when entitlements have been corrupted into our nations BIGGEST POLITICAL FUNDRAISERS, it is time to speak up. As Mike Huckabee says,” that’s my opinion and I welcome yours.”

For straight talk,

Larry Moss