By REED TUCKER
May 18, 2008
You can vote as much as you want (and in Chicago, some people do), but the sad truth is that money probably has a greater influence on our democracy than "we, the people."
So I began to wonder how my personal spending might be affecting the election.
You've probably heard the old urban legend that buying Domino's pizza is equivalent to making a donation to anti-abortion groups, because the chain is run by a pro-lifer. (Not exactly true. Founder Thomas Monaghan does give to pro-life groups, but he sold the pizza chain in 1998.) As a journalist, I'm ethically barred from making personal contributions to candidates, but was the money I was spending on everyday items making its way to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain, unbeknownst to me?
Hill yes, it was!
And while companies themselves can't give to candidates, their CEOs and executives can, often through the firm's political action committee (which donate more money to congressional candidates than presidential).
Take Starbucks, for example. You'd probably guess the company's workers lean left, and you'd be right.
Get this: Just one Starbucks employee in the entire country - one - has given to John McCain's campaign. A guy in Wenatchee, Washington. So when you buy that latte, chances are some of that money will help fund a Democrat.
For a few weeks, I tracked my own personal spending, then picked select items and investigated where the money was likely to end up. I used Federal Election Commission records and opensecrets.org, a campaign-finance Web site, to figure out to whom a company's owner, executives, employees or PAC gave their money. (The caveat being only donations of greater than $200 are disclosed.) As you might suspect, every dollar you spend is in some way political, whether you like it or not.
Bought a ticket to the Yankees game
Cost: $45
Analysis: The team rewarded superfan Rudy Giuliani; owner George Steinbrenner, GM Brian Cashman, president Randy Levine and broadcaster Al Leiter all gave big checks to the former mayor's campaign, totaling about $8,000. Steinbrenner also gave $2,300 to Clinton last year.
Result: Chalk this one up as a W for Hillary.
Paid my Verizon cell phone bill
Cost: $54.86
Analysis: The phone company has its own political action committee called the "Verizon Communication Inc. Good Government Club." Sounds like something out of high-school civics class, but the club gave $5,000 to McCain.
Result: McCain takes it.
Watched "Lost" on ABC
Cost: Free
