By the time voters decide the eight initiatives on Tuesday's special election ballot, political contributions for and against are expected to surpass $225 million.
Can all that money be chalked up to contributors seeking a quid pro quo, or is it merely the cost of democracy in a geographically vast state with 35 million people?
It's probably a little of both, according to Edwin Bender, executive director of the Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Helena, Mont. Bender fielded a series of questions earlier this week.
Question: Is it true George Washington was one of the nation's first campaign spending miscreants because he passed out rum, wine, beer and cider to the 391 voters in his Virginia legislative district?
Answer: I don't know about Washington. But I do know that from the beginning of time, politically speaking, politicians have had to gather support, and that was often done through more informal means, such as community gatherings with free food and raffles.
Q: So if it's part of the political routine, how important is it for voters to pay attention to fundraising?
A: Voters should be aware of what's going on in a candidate's fundraising campaigns for two major reasons: In this age of instant polling, massaged messages and spin-doctored responses, campaign lists are some of the most transparent information available about who supports a candidate and how candidates might think about spending taxpayer money. For example, we see many candidates raising more than 20% of their campaign cash from contributions under the reporting threshold. These contributions usually represent the folks sending in $10, $50 or $100. This is the "good" money, an indication that a candidate has been knocking on doors and talking at community gatherings about issues.
Q: And the second reason has to do with "bad" money?
A: If voters see that a candidate raised only 5% from small donors, that's an indication that the candidate is going for big money, which is often from so-called special interests that have campaign giving strategies. Looking at who is giving and patterns of giving by a specific company or industry, such as real estate, banking or contractors, can give voters a clue about whom the candidate will turn to for information when a special-interest bill comes before them.
Q: Big contributors are drawn to big issues, right?
