So, about this meme that you have to have bazillions of dollars

[Le Taz Hot]

to compete in today's political environment. If that was the case, Jeb would be winning by a landslide, Meg Whitman would have been California's Governor and Carly Fiorina would have been one of it's Senators.

Keep fighting, Bernie supporters, it's been done before and we can do it again.

[Kalidurga]

1. But we do have a bazillion dollars

Bernie has 700,000 people that send him money. And there is the hidden campaign money it can't be counted there is just no way to estimate the amount of money all the volunteers spend knocking on doors, going to canvassing meetings, and all the other volunteer campaign work.

[jwirr]

4. Buying our own signs, copying or own flyers, organizing our

own meetings and actions.

[Le Taz Hot]

17. Of course you're right.

Those are the "intangibles" the Bean Counters hate because there's no way to quantify it.

[BlueCaliDem]

2. Not in the Primary but most certainly in the General Election.

In the primary, it's basically Party candidates against one another and a few million should be enough.

However, once the primaries are over, Citizens United becomes all-important when Democrat campaigns against Republican for the White House. Big Money will begin to unite against their single adversary.

Since Sanders is principled and is bucking the Citizens United new rules, and has neither big donors in the primaries and definitely none (no Super PACs) for the G.E., he'll be an easy target to defeat by the GOP money machine and the Libertarian billionaires who want to destroy "Big Gubmint".

In this era of Citizens United, your preferred primary candidate has decided to handicap himself just before entering the ring. Not smart. Noble? Principled? Ethical? Morally sound? Absolutely. But not a winning strategy against an opponent who is willing to bring out the big guns while Sanders holds a water pistol.

[NurseJackie]

8. Thank you! nt

[Cosmic Kitten]

9. What can big money accomplish that grass root cannot?

[reddread]

18. buy off the media

now why would that be necessary, let alone legal?

[Cosmic Kitten]

20. I get your point, but *the media* is already OWNED by the 1%

They are simply a propaganda arm
of the oligarchs.

The 4th Estate is long gone.

It seems the money buys ADVERTISING.
It keeps the flow of money flowing
from the top, to the enablers.

[reddread]

21. more like a revolving merry go round in this case

contributions flowing one way, votes flowing the other.
big media budgets, no nasty (or for that matter, fair) coverage.
total abrogation of responsibilities in place and inherent from the
dawn of broadcasting, no matter how they shed them, crimes against democracy.
believing a word or apparent action from criminals like that
is a bad idea.

[Cosmic Kitten]

22. Yep, That's how we know the 4th Estate is dead.

[reddread]

23. 1st Amendment obituary written by "acceptable sources"

[dsc]

3. jerry brown was the best known, non incumbent politician in the state when he ran and beat whitman

Jeb is losing to people who also have money (he isn't losing to Kasich for example).

[Omaha Steve]

5. And use our DU link to donate to Bernie

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

[SunSeeker]

6. The 2016 Presidential Election is expected to cost $5 Billion.

This is not a state office campaign in a blue state. The Fiorina and Whitman examples in California, where very popular and well known and well financed Dem Governor and Senate candidates were on the ballot (Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer), are just not applicable.

Bernie cannot do this on $10 Act Blue internet donations and no super pac help. Ask Russ Feingold.

[Cosmic Kitten]

7. It won't *cost* 5 billion. That's what will be spent

At $5 billion, what does
that breakdown to per vote?

What other nation spends
that kind of money to elect leaders?
NONE.

It's a symptom of the cancer
that plagues of political system.

It's a sure sign of corruption.

[SunSeeker]

10. That's all you've got? Playing with semantics?

How about addressing my point?

How is unilateral disarmament going to get us what we want?

[eridani]

11. How does money overcome grassroots organizing? n/t

[MohRokTah]

16. Paying three people to GOTV to every grassroots volunteer your opponent has in GOTV = Landslide. eom

[eridani]

33. Because paid GOTV people are really, really motivated?

The game has changed with traditional media seeing significant aging of viewership, and social media and podcasting taking on increasingly important roles.

[SunSeeker]

30. By overwhelming the airwaves with propaganda. nt

[eridani]

32. So who's listening to the airwaves anymore?

Mostly people who won't vote for Democrats anyway.

[SunSeeker]

34. Right. Who needs TV ads. Only Republicans watch TV.

[eridani]

35. Most voters are more annoyed by them than convinced of anything.

TV viewing is way down, with the median age of broadcast TV reaching an all time high of 54.

[AgingAmerican]

12. Money can't buy you love

Ask Scott Walker and Jeb! Jeb! has about $200 million. Walker has the Koch Brothers. Money can't buy you love.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. And money can't buy enthusiasm

and money doesn't translate to votes. That's why all these, "But Brown and . . . state elections . . . and established candidates" reactions. Money changing hands between the .01%ers is all they know.

BUT, we have to keep him viable throughout the early primary states so the REST OF THE COUNTRY can have the option of voting for him.

[brooklynite]

14. Correction, you have to have money as a threshold; you can still be a hopeless candidate...

[reddread]

19. thats for sure

[Nay]

27. Thank you. Enough money is the baseline -- you still have to be able to run a

campaign, display energy, etc.

[1StrongBlackMan]

28. I want to include, as a huge etc., ...

"and connect with key constituencies, within your parties base."

[MohRokTah]

15. Money is a key component to the game.

And Sanders just does not have the fund raising capability in order to win a GE.

End of story.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

24. Not true

[1StrongBlackMan]

29. Now, THAT, is a meme ...

a fantasy fueled meme at that.

At the end, it'll be the decisions influenced by CU that will doom Clinton.

Unless I'm misunderstanding your point, HRC has the money to compete in this CU age; however, Bernie and O'Malley, do not ... less so, O'Malley, because he has not foreclosed on fund raising streams.

That, and Bernie's base is still growing on a rapid basis. None of them will ever be polled, of course.

That was the fantasy part.

[Uncle Joe]

31. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Le Taz Hot.