How to do something real for Louisiana and bankrupt McCain

[barking_iguana]

The Obama campaign has much more money than the McCain campaign, right? Enough to spare some for hurricane relief?

The Obama campaign should take the initiative and say both campaigns should divert some money from politics to hurricane relief. They should lead with a $5,000,000 pledge no matter what and then say that both campaigns should find a way to give even more. But since neither campaign can stop campaign spending alone, they should do it together, to Put America First!

Any amount of money the McCain campaign can give up, the Obama campaign would give up at least as much, maybe more. But to stop one-up-man-ship, Obama should agree that each side trying to get in a few extra dollars would be petty. If McCain wants Obama not to give a little more than the McCain campaign can afford, the Obama campaign could agree that exactly matching is best.

A possible political drawback is that it may undercut the truthful McCain-is-rich-and-out-of-touch theme, since the Obama campaign (but not Obama's lifestyle) has more money. There are other ways this could backfire, too. But I think it would actually do something good and would be recognized by most as doing so and would therefore be a significant net plus.

Comments

[jayeye.livejournal.com]

Why give them any money in the first place? Unless, of course, the intent is to buy their vote.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

Why should who give who money? Are you asking why people outside the affected area should participate in disaster relief?

[jayeye.livejournal.com]

People as such should be free to give their money to whatever they please. But I *am* questioning the suggestion that the campaigns qua campaings should give any money. I'm also against using federal funds as "relief" -- it's not like this is an unexpected situation, the area is being hit by hurricanes all the time.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

Actually, What happened three years ago and will in some form again tomorrow are well beyond anything that has happened to the area in living memory. Disasters happen somewhere with some regularity. Those in especially high-risk areas should be expected to bear a higher than normal burden. And they do. Lives will be thoroughly disrupted and some will be lost. To extrend that and say that therefore the broader society should not act to alleviate suffering in those areas that happen to be hit especially hard, even to the point of not finding shelter or rebuilding first-aid squads to serve those who are in the area after the fact, is not something I'd even come close to agreeing with.

As for the campaigns, because it's potentially in their self-interest. Not because it would buy votes in Louisiana, but because it demonstrates the candidates have commitment to the head-of-state function of the Presidency, in addition to the head-of-government function.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

You know that New Orleans was probably hit by only category 1 winds, right? And that the disaster was not the hurricane, but the failure of the government’s unmaintained levees, right? And that most of the dead were senior citizens who drowned—slowly, helplessly, horribly—on the first day as the water from the unmaintained, collapsed canals rose around them.

So the whole disaster was the fault of the federal government, really, and the federal government ought to be not only taking responsibility now, but paying reparations for the manmade disaster of three years ago, which followed a rather minor hurricane incident.

BTW New York is very high on the list of cities at risk of mega-disasters involving hurricanes. It’ll be very interesting trying to evacuate Brooklyn in advance of the storm surge. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that nothing major happens to New York this hurricane season.

[rabjeff.livejournal.com]

Beyond other factors, I doubt this is legal. Campaign money can only be used for campaign expenses, by law, as far as I know.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

I thought of that, but I think it could be legally justified because of the publicity both sides would get out of it.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

I’ve got to tell you, I have no specific objection, it’s just my ‘This is a Bad Idea’ detector is going nuts. Probably it is my unconscious just putting me at the receiving end of these campaign tactics and deciding that they would make me feel like crap.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

It might be better to challenge the supporters of each candidate to give, rather than the campaigns themselves.