Politics

New Wisconsin Recall Spending Report Shows Equal Out-of-State Contributions

One of the loudest bleating from the liberal Left on the night of the Wisconsin recall where Scott Walker trounced liberal opponent Tom Barrett was that it was out-of-state campaign contributions that soured Democracy and won the day. Tearfully the liberals cried out in anguish that “Democracy had died” that night. 

A new report from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign group shows this is claim about spending just not true.

Released today, the report shows out-of-state spending was about the same for either side, with conservative groups spending $39.8 million, while liberal groups spent $36 million.

One of the problems with reporting these figures is that the deadlines for campaigns to report their contributions are long past the date of the actual election. On the night of an election, the campaign spending reports are often not reflective of true spending.

Here’s an example from Mother Jones in the article with the foreboding title, Wisconsin Recall Elections: The Dark Money Pours In

In the run-up to next week’s recall elections targeting six Republican state senators, outside advocacy groups have flooded Wisconsin with millions in campaign spending.

Newsbusters rounded up a lot of the culprits implying evil out-of-state spending won the day for Walker:

On Monday’s NBC Nightly News, Alexander described how the state “has been flooded with a record $64 million in campaign spending…with Walker out-raising his opponent 7-1.” He then declared: “Many voters have had enough.”

The final tally however, has Walker contributions at $58.7 million to $22 million in the governor’s race, hardly the 7-1 ratio shouted by despairing democrats.
Of course, when Obama was soundly trouncing McCain in campaign funds in 2008, the media was praising his team up and down, because money for Democrats mean a well-run campaign and translates to enthusiasm. When Republicans raise a lot of money, it just means thatangry white men” are buying the election.