Can you run a viable Presidential campaign without corporate $$$? [View all]

[cali]

No.

The system has been structured so that it's a necessity.

BUT.

It is possible to raise a lot of money from small donors. Howard Dean blazed that trail and how did he do it?

By running as an unabashed liberal

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He made it cool to radiate a confident liberalism

Early in the race, Dean articulated his belief that Democrats did not need to dilute their views to win in red states. They just needed fresh rhetoric that exploded liberal stereotypes and resonated beyond their own social circles.

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http://theweek.com/article/index/245970/4-ways-howard-dean-changed-american-politics

Obama followed suit in raising money from small donors largely via the internet.

In 2008, he raised about 34% of his funds in the general from small donors:

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In the general election, Obama got about 34 percent of his individual donations from small donors, people who gave $200 or less, according to a report from the Campaign Finance Institute. Another 23 percent of donations came from people who gave between $201 and $999, and another 42 percent from people who gave $1,000 or more.

His numbers for the primary were similar. He got about 30 percent of his money from donors who gave $200 or less. Another 28 percent of donations came from people who gave between $201 and $999, and 43 percent from people who gave $1,000 or more.

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http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/22/barack-obama/obama-campaign-financed-large-donors-too/

Our election system when it comes to money is corrupt- no doubt about it:

President Barack Obama answered questions on this topic in an interview with CNBC's John Harwood on April 21, 2010.

"In the 2008 campaign, you got a lot of money, about $1 million from employees of Goldman Sachs," Harwood said. "Your former White House counsel Greg Craig is apparently going to represent Goldman Sachs. In light of this case, do either of those things embarrass you?"

"No," Obama said. "First of all, I got a lot of money from a lot of people. And the vast majority of the money I got was from small donors all across the country. And moreover, anybody who gave me money during the course of my campaign knew that I was on record again in 2007, and 2008, pushing very strongly that we needed to reform how Wall Street did business. And so, nobody should be surprised in the position that I'm taking now because it is one that I was very clear about in the course of the campaign."

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http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/22/barack-obama/obama-campaign-financed-large-donors-too/

Corporations will have more leeway in the 2016 elections than ever.

We aren't going to have a candidate who doesn't accept corporate dollars. But there are corporations and corporations. There are guides to corporations. I'd rather see a candidate getting big bucks from the alternative energy sector than big oil. I'd rather see a candidate taking dollars from the the organic food sector than from Monsanto. And I'd rather have a candidate who didn't owe the financial sector.


http://mashable.com/2011/10/25/measure-social-good-business/