“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.”

Samuel Adams

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Does Money Affect Election Outcomes in US Politics? A Quick Review of the Literature

Does Money Affect Election Outcomes in US Politics? A Quick Review of the Literature

A: Candidates who raise a lot of money tend to do better, and it’s more likely than not that at least part of this relationship is due to money paying for things like ads and canvassers that help candidates win over new voters and/or turn out their bases. High-quality challengers may be deterred by large war chests, but other factors such as local political conditions and incumbent quality are more important: in most cases, a much-despised incumbent with a lot of money is in a worse position than a much-liked incumbent with very little money. 

This is one paragraph that  follows my line of reasoning because some people in Peru worry about the large amount of outside funding coming into the mayors race  For more information read the entire article. The one I posted seems to summarize the general feeling.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the payoff from the gambling establishments and others? Do they want to change administration? There may be more monies available than one may think! ----- signed, Curious

Peru Town Forum said...

That might be changing also as I believe there are 4 businesses at this time that have connected with the new gaming machines through the state. The city is getting 5% of the profit from those, I believe. Also not as many taverns in town as there used to be but still a lot of money changing hands. Where were they at the last election?

Anonymous said...

The establishments that have legalized video gaming machines pay twenty five percent of profits to the state and five per cent to the city as reported in the local newspaper and radio station.
The majority of gambling in the area is illegal and pays nothing to the state or city. It is illegal but has carried on forever creating the false illusion of being legal. It is conducted openly without any government action, and the lack of publication from the newspaper and radio station.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:05 Your question of where is the payoff of the illegal gambling establishments is a very good one? It would be interesting to know where the payoff is distributed and how high it goes in the political chain of command and when it takes place.
The recent occurance of confiscated money of $500,000 at the airport is a good example of unaccountability. Most considered this to be entirely drug money but how can one ever be assured. There is also the possibility that this could have been gambling payoffs or the combination of illegal drugs and illegal gambling payoffs.
I doubt if they want a change of administrations as they already have all they could possibly want.

Anonymous said...

gambling is the only thing keeping many of the bars and combination bar / resturaunts in LaSalle, Peru, and Spring Valley open.

Anonymous said...

Too much discussion about gambling around here has proved very dangerous. A candidate that mentions illegal tavern gambling around here would have a hard time winning, no matter what.

Anonymous said...

Not sure that is true any longer. But if you are right, this town will never ever be anymore than it is right now. Businesses will continue to stay away.

Anonymous said...

Why has discussion of illegal gambling proven to be very dangerous? Laws are made to be enforced or they should not be made and this is the approach that respected candidates and citizens utilize. The candidate that mentions illegal gambling in this area will not have a hard time winning as most people today want a location to live in which is problem free and corporations looking for a new location go to the place with the least problems. Illegal gambling in the latter 40's and early 50's was shut down by Daisy Miller owner of the LaSalle Tribune and States Attorney Harlan Warren.
When you state that the candidate that mentions illegal tavern gambling around here would have a hard time winning, no matter what you are discrediting and insulting the citizens of this community and their voting ability.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:11 Gambling is not the only thing keeping them open , it is the sole reason they opened and since it is illegal guess what the next step is.

Peru Town Forum said...

An article from the News Trib about the little town of Manlius in tonights paper caused the resignation of the President of the Village Board

President Gene Menard's resignation letter:

After prayerful and deliberate contemplation, I find it necessary to resign my office of Village President effective immediately due to my moral objection to increasing the number of liquor licenses available in our village. I cannot in good conscience affix my name to any ordinance which I firmly believe is not in the best interest of our residents and long-term well-being of the youth of our community.
Ninety-nine residents petitioned that we not allow any additional liquor licenses in our village.
The two existing taverns in our community of 350 residents provide adequate opportunity to serve the needs of our community.
We have no local law enforcement available to monitor the inherent safety concerns associated with liquor sales.
I agree with the trustees that we need retail and commercial growth to achieve a vibrant community but opening additional liquor establishments will not achieve our objectives.
I thank the voters of the Village of Manlius for the opportunity to lead our Board of Trustees and preside over the construction of our sewer system, waste water treatment plant and the improvements realized in our downtown area since April 2009.
Respectfully submitted this 5th day of February 2013

Gene Menard
Village President

I must say this gentleman certainly has my respect for standing upfor his beliefs.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a shame that alderman Perez had to take all his hard work to Utica. To me, it speaks volumes about our present administration and what is important to them.

Anonymous said...

Children are not at the top of their list of priorities. Remember where they stuck the family area at the fireworks. That is just one example, there are many more.

Anonymous said...

12:21 Yes, you are right I am insulting the voters ability, based on the history of voting and tolerating illegal gambling here for many many years. I am insulting the credibility of the religious leaders who preach about babies and bible verses, while turning a blind eye to the acceptance of organized crime in the area for years. And I might as well throw in a little self loathing for being afraid of the guys who sell the tip boards and the local thugs who make sure the taverns keep tithing to the mob.

I would sure as hell respect any candidate that asked Peru to stand up and clean up. But I wouldn't lie and say I would not fear for them and their families. Ignoring bad things long enough makes them seem normal, seem right. Also makes them hard as hell to root out.

Peru Town Forum said...

Maybe out city could say NO LIQUOR allowed at any Concerts for a Cause. Speaking of a cause, do you think the "charity" designated in recent years is really a "cause"? The definition of a charity is Provision of help or relief to the poor; almsgiving.
2. Something given to help the needy; alms.
3. An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy. Consider that the Peru Recreation Board has written a letter to be included as one of the needy. Their annual budget is $75,000.

Anonymous said...

But the profits from the liquor sales go to the cause? Like all the fund raisers around here. And the sales tax collected from the carefully monitored cash food and liquor sales goes into our city coffers, causing that big bump in sales tax revenue that month.

I'm sorry, I just woke up. I must have been dreaming.

Anonymous said...

Lois: I think that would be a good heading - "what do you consider a cause?" I personally don't feel that any of the so called causes that have benefited from these concerts were true "causes". I consider a cause to be a hardship of some kind. What kind of hardship would the Rec Board even consider submitting? They already get $75,000 every year from the city. Why would the rec board even submit a letter unless they were asked to by Ms. Noonan? Sounds strange!

Anonymous said...

I would consider the homeless shelter, food pantry, the children and babies in our area suffering from cancer causes. Certainly not the rec board requests. What could they possibly want that would be considered a cause? I just don't get it!

Anonymous said...

The Mayor of a city is responsible for the city. When something is illegal it is his duty to cease its existence. If he is unwilling or unable those above him county, state and federal are to exert their legal obligations and assume the responsibilities of the Mayor.
Failure to enforce certain laws in Peru is just one of the aspects which make the present Mayor a poor candidate for another term.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't Mayor Harl CHANGE PERU AND CLEAN IT UP?

Anonymous said...

5:51 Because, since at least the early 50's this entire county has been a top generator of ticket receipts in Illinois. It is allowed as a tradition in the valley, from Father to Son, considered a victimless crime and ignored by church leaders and civil authorities. It is rare that such open illegal activities can occur unless regular payments are made to authorities in a given area.
Many naive and enthusiastic politicians win office and are soon faced with dangerous decisions. They quickly see it is in their own best interest to go with the flow in certain areas. Gambling, drinking and driving, large cash events are needed for things to continue smoothly, without unfortunate incidents or embarrassment to pillars of the community and good family names.
Just keep those big city drugs off the streets here. We have our own brand of small town evil in these parts.

Anonymous said...

You have to be kidding. You have a unbelieveable drug problem in this area! Read the newspaper and you will find that drug arrests outnumber DUI's in the area and many times are resulting in murder. You have written a intelligent comment but it is time for you to realize that you are the one who is naive and that we have more than one brand of small town evil in these parts. No matter how you want to address the problem drugs and illegal gambling are illegal, drinking alcohol within limitation is not.
In regards to open illegal gambling are you saying someone is getting a payoff or that no one is getting a payoff?

Anonymous said...

7:09 I was sarcastically referring to the emphasis on drug busts in the area, particularly the ones at truck stops. Yes, I know there is a drug problem. But I am also aware of a lack of activity outside of local taverns. I have seen cities set up regular sobriety stops near bars and virtually eliminate restaurant/bar drunk driving in city limits. But they had strong directives to do so from their leaders. It is possible that our leaders would not be able to have most of their council meetings without being arrested after their off site closed sessions, unless they are drinking pop.

As far as payoffs, ask yourself how 50 plus years of some of the highest ticket board volume has gone on virtually unchecked and in plain sight. Ask yourself how organized crime typically guarantees they will have no issues with police and local politicians. You can answer your own question.

Anonymous said...

As you can see the majority of the local politicians are held in high esteem by the general public. Many are looked upon as the fly who sits upon the toliet seat waiting to get p.o.

Peru Town Forum said...

Since this topic was initially all about money, I would like to include some more information about lots of money that will be spent on this election.
While checking my FB news feed, I saw through a friends post that former mayor Don Baker has set up a FB page and find some of his new friends to be very interesting and I think you would also.

Anonymous said...

Lois, Went on the facebook and see that Don Baker is a musician and actor. He played in the Walking Tall movies as the sheriff. I am glad to see he is running for Mayor. I like a person with experience and ready to meet the challenges. In the Walking Tall movies, he didn't back down from the mob of thugs that tried to control the city.

Peru Town Forum said...

And how many Don Bakers did you find on FB, I bet dozens of them but I found the DB fom Peru without any trouble.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:01 There is a upcoming snipe hunt leaving the Peru Slough tomorrow. It is going to be on a trail heading southwest. Why don't you join? With any luck I am positive that you will never find your own way back to Peru. If you can't go why don't you look for John Wayne on facebook and attempt to figure that out for the rest of your existence.