The U.S. political system has a long and noble tradition of catering almost exclusively to those who can front a big wad of cash for their campaigns - between 2000 and 2009, candidates spent $925.1 million on their own campaigns, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics - and this year's election circuit saw an especially high number of country clubbin' candidates paying their own way.
But during this recession, there's been a glitch in the matrix. Even though these candidates are loaded, they've gotten to talking all Huey Lewis-like. The current populist cravings of the public have led to some particularly bizarre behavior from these candidates. And by bizarre, I mean laughably hypocritical.
The New York Times noted that Jeff Greene, in an appearance last month in Miami, "arrived in a Cadillac Escalade S.U.V., before stumping for energy
conservation," told the crowd "that he was “fed up and frustrated” with Washington
while suggesting job-creation ideas previously proposed by Washington
politicians"; and then received "a raucous welcome as an outsider who could turn Florida
around."
While in the past, self-financed candidates have tended to lose (again, see the National
Institute on Money in State Politics), this recent election saw them at a greater advantage. That's largely because the wells of financial support for traditional fund-raising have all but dried up during the recession.
And with the way things are going now, that phenomenon may persist for many elections to come.
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