From small donors come big rewards

Grass-roots giving is reshaping campaign fundraising, and Barack Obama has been particularly adept at cultivating it.

From his South Texas home, Chuck Barracato watches the news to see how Barack Obama is doing. When Barracato is moved by Obama's message or senses that the Illinois senator could use some help, he digs into his savings and chips in $25 for the candidate's presidential campaign.

Barracato's payments, sent by computer click, add up to $700, maybe a little more. It's not a big sum by the standards of political donations, but it's enough to make Barracato part of a movement that some experts believe is reshaping presidential fundraising.

"I am grass-roots," said Barracato, 68, a retired teacher who has gotten involved in the 2008 presidential campaign because of his opposition to the war in Iraq. "I am the itty-bitty guy behind the movement."

The internet effect is again trumpeted as being the cure all for political fund raising, but filling Fred's pickup didn't translate into a lot of votes. Those movers and shakers who are the big political donors get their money from loads of small donors usually, and wield a representative amount of clout, for now. But if small donor fund raising continues, and nets more results from candidates, that same money that big donors usually pile up might start coming from the individuals directly.

Cliff is not a registered Democrat, something he must change if he is to vote in Texas' March 4 primary. And he had never given to a politician until this year.

So what has this LA Times writer been smoking? He obviously is seriously misnformed. All the Cliff has to do is be registered to vote in Texas. Texas doesn't have any partisan registration. Every two years every Texas voter can choose the party primary in which he wants to participate. Once you do vote in a primary, your voter registration card is stamped with the name of party in whose primary you participated and that information is entered into the county voter roll database. Partisan activists can have access to this information and use it for fund raising an other purposes. Once a voter has voted in a partisan primary, he or she can't vote in a different party's runoff or sign a petition for a candidate to have a spot on the general election ballot as an independent or third party candidate. Finally, a candidate for office is not allowed to vote in a different party's primary. There have actually been some candidates who have done this.

Its worse than that.

This LA Times writer doesn't seem to understand the process in California. I could be wrong, but I thought the CA GOP had a closed primary and the CA dems had an open primary?

right you are.....

Parties can allow voters who decline to state their party affiliation to participate in their primaries. Democrats allow registered Democrats and independents to vote in their primary. Republicans have a closed primary.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.