How to beat an incumbent legislator
This is for anyone running against an incumbent federal legislator who touts his or her ability to "bring home the bacon" for the home state. Beating that argument is pretty simple, but too few candidates have the courage to do so. All one has to do is:
1) Find all the bills from the previous legislative session that had an earmark for the state in question.
2) Add up the total value of earmarks, both for the state and for others.
3) Take the sponsors of all those bills
4) Add up the total value of earmarks not for the state in all the bills sponsored by those identified in step 3.
5) Subtract the value of earmarks for the state from the total value of earmarks for other states.
6) Show the voters how much they paid to get the earmarks brought home by the incumbent.
I don't have starry-eyed, slavishly devoted campaign workers, so I haven't actually checked on this for Colorado, but I would be willing to bet that, in the majority of raises in which "bringing it home" is an issue, the incumbent can be shown to have squandered more money than he or she brought in.
Just a thought.
1) Find all the bills from the previous legislative session that had an earmark for the state in question.
2) Add up the total value of earmarks, both for the state and for others.
3) Take the sponsors of all those bills
4) Add up the total value of earmarks not for the state in all the bills sponsored by those identified in step 3.
5) Subtract the value of earmarks for the state from the total value of earmarks for other states.
6) Show the voters how much they paid to get the earmarks brought home by the incumbent.
I don't have starry-eyed, slavishly devoted campaign workers, so I haven't actually checked on this for Colorado, but I would be willing to bet that, in the majority of raises in which "bringing it home" is an issue, the incumbent can be shown to have squandered more money than he or she brought in.
Just a thought.
posted by heavynettle at 10:04
3 Comments:
Hey! That's false advertising! When you said "beat an incumbent" I had hoped...well, nevermind.
We shall see firsthand if your theory holds true for Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and his famous "bridge to nowhere," the cost of which is about double the funds allocated next year to protect D.C. from terrorist attacks. If the citizens of Alaska turn this pork-meister out, then I'll use your method every time. However, I have my doubts...
Check this out, btw: Pork Busters Hall of SHAME!
(If only they HAD shame.)
Hey! And don't forget the money lawmakers divert for themselves:
Money-grubbing scumbags!
Point taken, zak: I should have said "how to defeat an incumbent legislator in the 2006 elections". Thanks for the links.
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