ABSTRACT
The reality of modern politics, though, requires some means of dealing with such conflicts, since money is an essential and necessary ingredient for most campaigns. As Perlmutter (1999) noted, “It is extremely difficult to run for higher office in America without an enormous war chest filled with one’s own money or that of wealthy friends and partisans” (p. 2). The fact is that money buys the means of political speech. Without money political messages cannot be tested by pollsters; advertising spots cannot be created; ad time cannot be purchased; staffs cannot be hired; campaign schedules cannot be kept; and money cannot be raised. Without adequate funding there is less political speech. For the candidate who wants to win, money is an ever-present reality.
