Insiders Split On Public Financing For Pres. Campaigns
| Do you support eliminating the federal matching-fund system for presidential elections starting in 2012? | ||
Democrats |
Republicans (103 votes) |
|
| Yes | 38% | 87% |
| No | 59% | 11% |
| Doesn't matter (volunteered) | 0% | 1% |
| Undecided (volunteered) | 3% | 1% |
Republicans and Democrats remain split over public financing for presidential campaigns, but the current system seems to have dwindling fans in both parties, according to this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll.
A huge majority of Republican Insiders supported eliminating the federal matching fund system for presidential elections. Many felt that Pres. Obama's success in foregoing federal funds in both the 2008 Democratic nominating contest and the general election was ample evidence that the system had outlived its usefulness.
A lot of Republicans are also just philosophically opposed to the idea of taxpayer dollars subsidizing political activities. Some are contemptuous. "No one cares about clean elections except Ralph Nader," asserted one Republican Insider. "Scrap it and put the money into something useful--like a nuclear warhead."
Although not a majority, a number of Democratic Insiders also felt the current system which was born in the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal was now outmoded.
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