Booman Tribune ~ Comments ~ Financing Campaigns: A History

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Financing Campaigns: A History | 20 comments (20 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Yes (none / 1)

you are largely correct.

Although limiting the Mob to Sicily is not entirely correct. For instance, Costello was from Calabria.

But southern Italy would be accurate as a description.

Ethnic identity played an important part of getting politicians elected. But the financing of those politicians was usually done through ill-gotten gains. And the pols rewarded the gangsters by appointing corrupt judges, corrupt police commissioners (Bernie Kerik), and awarding mobbed up companies with lucrative contracts.

The mobs also penetrated the unions, which were another source of contributions. So, they fleeced the union members while at the same time using the union's cohesiveness as a pawn to get contracts.

It was corrupt through and through, despite the efforts of reformers like LaGuardia, who was not above taking advantage of these arrangements.

by BooMan on Tue Sep 20th, 2005 at 05:59:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yes (none / 1)

And you're talking about the major urban centers where most of the political power was centered. My experience is from smaller cities and towns, although Pittsburgh was an economic power for a decent bit of the 20th century. But I don't know much about organized crime in politics there either.

But I guess the lesson I draw from that era has to do with a sense of shared fate. It was partly imposed, and certainly it was ethnic, although lots of intermarriages in the second and third generations, and the sense of solidarity widened, before it discipated as the sons and daughters of Italy, Ireland and eastern Europe melted into suburbia. I know that the clubs and organizations were important for several generations, and the unions were strong, which helped maintain a sense of belonging to a class that had to vote for what they needed in common.
That is as important as money, and these days, a sense of shared fate is important to raising money.

"The end of all intelligent analysis is to clear the way for synthesis." H.G. Wells "It's not dark yet, but it's getting there." Bob Dylan

by Captain Future (captainfuture is at sbcglobal.net) on Tue Sep 20th, 2005 at 09:26:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Right (none / 1)

and here is my point. When FDR went and pissed off the kingmakers on Wall Street, FDR was able to fall back on the unions and urban machines for financing. Not his personal financing necessarily, but for all the pols that supported him.

But as the unions weakened and the machines were worn down by RICO acts, there was nothing to replace them.

Another rift happened in the Vietnam era, when the Democratic Party became divided over the war. Urban machine pols were largely representing hard-hat construction men and longshoremen, and the like. They were not McGovernites. Guys like Frank Rizzo wound up supporting Nixon, while others merely withheld support for McGovern.

The genius of Reagan was to not limit himself to a southern strategy, but to appeal to the hardhat's sense of national pride and the appeal of tough guy rhetoric. That is how he won states like New York.

Then he went about taking the hardhat's power away by wearing down the unions, while they all cheered and clapped.

Anyway, we need to finance our candidates or Wall Street will continue to own both parties on economic issues.

by BooMan on Tue Sep 20th, 2005 at 09:36:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Financing Campaigns: A History | 20 comments (20 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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