MiTEG's Journal: The Democratic National Committee

Yesterday I received a piece of mail from the Democratic National Committee soliciting donations thinly disguised as a presidential poll. What really struck me was some of the wording:

Unlike past elections, funding for our next presidential campaign efforts must come primarily from donors who give $20, $35, $50, and $100 contributions. And frankly, the Republican Party holds a huge lead in the number and amount of small contributions it raises.

...

P.S. All individuals who support the Democratic National Committee with a contribution of at least $20 this year will be allowed to directly elect a small number of delegates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. We want our supporters to have an extra voice in who wins out nomination, so please make a donation and help support the candidate of your choice.

Seems kind of shady to me. For the record, my party preference is 'none of the above.'

Actually not shady

[perfessor multigeek]

For once the good guys won one (comparatively) and you're seeing the results. Big campaign contributions are *finally* starting to be more limited under McCain-Feingold [commoncause.org].
I'm not up on all the details but I can tell you that this isn't just hogwash. In fact, the Dems spent umpty-bazzilion dollars last year building a whole new funding management apparatus, in it's own building right off the Mall, just to deal with this.
The GOPers, as usual, were way ahead and didn't have to scramble as much.

Don't frown; thi

Re:Actually not shady

[MiTEG]

What threw me off was the mention that only people who donated would be able to elect a small number of delegates. I don't know how it works, is it like the electoral college or are the delegates there simply to cheer the candidates on? The ballots must count for something.

But then, it makes sense that the DNC would want to ensure the people in charge of choosing the candidate are dedicated party members.

I think campaign finance reform is a good thing, but there still seems to be a long way to go. I'm