Posted by
Norm on Thursday, February 21, 2008 6:43:00 PM
How To Buy An Election – Norman E. Hooben February 21, 2008
As it was in the beginning…the beginning of the Socialist era that is…when the father of the modern socialist party, Franklin D. Roosevelt, proclaimed in his first Inaugural Address (Saturday, March 4, 1933), “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself…” And indeed the Government recruited…of the government, for the government, and by the government.
Directed by FDR’s OIC (military lingo for, “Officer-In-Charge”) of entitlements Harold Ickes, began the spending billions of dollars on government projects. Ickes was the Secretary of the Interior and also the director of the Public Works Administration (PWA). Under the auspices' of the PWA, he orchestrated a system of patronage that formed the basis of the modern American system of entitlements and special interests groups hoping to reduce the then unemployment rate of over 20 percent.
Ickes was basically an honest man and his intentions were honorable to say the least. However, the jobs created by the PWA now created a sense of security for those who had them. It did not matter to which political party these new found government employees belonged, they were going to give thanks to FDR by voting for the party currently in office…the Democrats!
The Democratic Party very quickly realized that they now had control over a large block of voters…government employees! And the saga continues through to this day where the number of government employees has soared to approximately 20 million workers (19,514,000 in 2005). Although both parties (Democrats and Republicans) contribute to the increase in government jobs, it is the Democrats who do it best. For the most part Republicans would like to do away with many government jobs but for political expediency they are usually expected to re-hire the hacks originally hired by Democrats. The Democrats have invented more non-essential jobs than any other entity…and they know it! It keeps them in power!
Close to 100 percent (98% - 99% see table below.) of all government employees (not counting the military) contribute to the Democratic party. Where they throw their money is where they throw their vote!
In summary, “Gimmee a guv’ment job, I giv ya my vote!”
Top 10 donors: (source: http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/index.asp)
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American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees
|
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$39,152,384
|
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AT&T Inc
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$38,749,107
|
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National Assn of Realtors
|
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$31,581,156
|
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American Assn for Justice
|
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$28,290,139
|
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Goldman Sachs
|
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$27,365,532
|
|
National Education Assn
|
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$27,335,762
|
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Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
|
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$27,272,206
|
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Laborers Union
|
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$26,186,839
|
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Service Employees International Union
|
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$25,392,043
|
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Carpenters & Joiners Union
|
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$25,384,232
|
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American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is made up of 3,500 local unions representing 1.4 million members who work in public service and health care. In Washington, AFSCME works on everything from improving unemployment benefits to strengthening job security. Among its biggest priorities are raising the minimum wage, battling efforts to privatize public sector jobs and fighting efforts to substitute vacation time for overtime pay for millions of workers. AFSCME strongly supported Democratic nominee John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, and has actively opposed several of President Bush's second-term initiatives, especially partial privatization of Social Security.
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Election Cycle
|
Total Contributions
|
Dems
|
Repubs
|
% to Dems
|
% to Repubs
|
|
2008
|
$1,020,335
|
$1,009,835
|
$10,500
|
99%
|
1%
|
|
2006
|
$2,387,168
|
$2,340,170
|
$27,000
|
98%
|
1%
|
|
2004
|
$2,051,598
|
$2,002,598
|
$43,500
|
98%
|
2%
|
|
2002
|
$9,452,954
|
$9,363,454
|
$67,000
|
99%
|
1%
|
|
2000
|
$8,949,656
|
$8,822,056
|
$118,600
|
99%
|
1%
|
|
1998
|
$3,981,620
|
$3,877,620
|
$95,500
|
97%
|
2%
|
|
1996
|
$3,778,249
|
$3,725,324
|
$41,925
|
99%
|
1%
|
|
1994
|
$3,333,981
|
$3,286,361
|
$40,120
|
99%
|
1%
|
|
1992
|
$2,464,153
|
$2,401,903
|
$47,250
|
98%
|
2%
|
|
1990
|
$1,732,670
|
$1,696,336
|
$35,800
|
98%
|
2%
|
|
TOTAL
|
$39,152,384
|
$38,525,657
|
$527,195
|
98%
|
1%
|
|
METHODOLOGY: The numbers on this page are based on contributions of $200 or more from PACs and individuals to federal candidates and from PAC, individual and soft money donors to political parties, as reported to the Federal Election Commission. While election cycles are shown in charts as 1996, 1998, 2000 etc. they actually represent two-year periods. For example, the 2002 election cycle runs from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. Data for the current election cycle was released by the Federal Election Commission on Monday, January 07, 2008.
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(Also note that the table consists of state, county, and municipal employees. The percentages would change very little if the federal employees were added to the mix.)