And The Winner Is....The One With The Most Cash

There is no question that to campaign for president (or any other office) it takes a huge amount of money. Campaign fund raisers are part of the process and it is not uncommon for candidates to host $1000 a plate dinners or other events. Self-funding has also been something that has come to light more recently due to the huge fortune of Mitt Romney and the great deal of his own money he has put into the campaign. This is in strong contrast to Mike Huckabee's campaign where some of the team is refusing paychecks to help the strained finances there.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the candidate who has access to the most money has a much higher advantage of winning. With plenty of financial support, candidates can put out more radio and TV ads, they can travel more, they can travel faster, and they can hire more people to help with the campaign. The candidate that has access to the most money is not necessarily the one who will make the best person in office.

The recent reports of the millions of dollars spent by the campaigns leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. As part of the middle class, I really don't even know what $1 million would feel like, much less the $40 million that it is estimated some candidates have spent so far. I do know however how far we stretch our budget of much, much, much less than that and I know the value of even a single dollar. On the subject of finances, lets pit me up against any candidate. Who do you think would know how much a gallon of milk cost, a well child doctor visit, a well puppy visit (more than the well child visit!!!!), home owners insurance, car insurance, medications, the list could go on. Don't the majority of Americans feel their wallet crunch at the grocery store, the drug store, and the gas station? I can't be the only one, who could feed my family for nearly 20 years on $1 million dollars. It is the waste that breaks my heart and the amount of good that all this money could go for.

Campaign finance reform needs to do much more than just limit what individuals can donate to campaigns, it should limit spending.