Quote:
Originally Posted by gunnut
I don't understand how you can run an election campaign without raising funds. How do you pay for your staffers? TV commercials? Brochures? Placards? Office rentals? Convention hall rentals?
I believe majority of the cash used by politicians here during an election is on office rentals and TV/radio commericials. The lavish candidates will have highly paid consultants. The ones on a shoestring budget will rely more on volunteers.
How do you guys run your election campaigns?
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Depends, In Oz, your invited to become a member of said party and contribute, and anyone up including big business can contribute. Those donations are disclosed to the Public.
Additionally, Political parties receive funding from the Public purse if they gather a certain percentage of the vote, indexed on a per vote basis. It has the unfortunate affect of snowballing the big parties whilst sidelining the small ones, but what it has shown is that a government can only advertise its way to victory so much.
But it's not so brazen as in the U.S, if Hillary wants some funds, she'll send Bill down to NY Jewish community and say stuff like id sooner pick up a gun for israel than I would for the U.S' I personally don't get how she has obtained so much money. A politician with so much money, isn't very credible.
There are also limits - for instance you can put your posters up on stobie poles (the things that carry electricity) But if you don't take them down within 2 weeks of the election taking place, you get fined. There are a few 'blue chip' electorates also - ones that never change demographically, The Australian Electory Commission, redefines an electorates boundaries every election for example. Australias Prime Minister John Howard lost his seat of 20+ years, due to the opposition putting in a high profile candidate, and the AEC also changed the electoral boundaries, resulting in a very narrow victory for the opposition in that seat.
All this wrapping yourselves in flags crap with your name emblazoned with a red white a blue background isn't seen that often here. Personally I don't get why the logo for the GOP (why on earth is it called the grand old party, what on earth is grand about a bunch of pollies is beyond me) is a fat ugly elephant, that resides 10's of 1000's of kilometers away from the U.S in it's natural habitat is strange, what it's doin draped in stars and stripes is another thing all together. But then again you got the democratic party with some stupid styalised red white and blue gazelle logo...
The Republicans Logo should be something like Gunnuts B52, and the Dems should be a red hairwig.