I actually read the article, and personally, I found the numbers unimpressive for either side. Out of --what? About a million-and-a-half?--military personnel, they said something like 800 and change donated to Obama, and 500 and change donated to McCain. To my mind, that sounds more like nobody in the military donates to political campaigns than anything else!
Personally, as a former Marine, I'd eat dirt before donating to Obama, and based on my acquaintances and experience, I'd say most other Marines feel much the same way. This is not because I think the Republicans are so hot, but because the Democrats are, in my opinion, even worse.
But I guess we'll know how the military vote actually turns out in November, won't we?
We have a different view of these numbers, to wit: "According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul." You can slice and dice all you want, but the fact is that Obama is cleaning up among deployed troops.
"...nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions..."
Especially interesting, since deployed troops hear almost exclusively from right-wing demogogues on the Armed Forces Network: Rush, Hannity (who gets prime drive time) and Dr. Laura.
Those numbers strongly suggest that they can't stomach either Bush or McBush.
On the other hand, the total number of deployed making contributions is only 160 total. That is an awfully small number. I think Dan is right about military folk not doing much political donating.
The heavy skew toward Obama among the tiny group of contributors could be for another reason. Those who favor Obama (or simply dislike Bush/McBush) may be forced to suppress their opinions due to pressure from superiors and peers. Making the Obama contribution might be one of the few ways to relieve the pressure.
But I do agree that the point of interest is why the number is so low rather than the significance of the skew. It's just too small to infer anything other than what you did.
6 comments:
I actually read the article, and personally, I found the numbers unimpressive for either side. Out of --what? About a million-and-a-half?--military personnel, they said something like 800 and change donated to Obama, and 500 and change donated to McCain. To my mind, that sounds more like nobody in the military donates to political campaigns than anything else!
Personally, as a former Marine, I'd eat dirt before donating to Obama, and based on my acquaintances and experience, I'd say most other Marines feel much the same way. This is not because I think the Republicans are so hot, but because the Democrats are, in my opinion, even worse.
But I guess we'll know how the military vote actually turns out in November, won't we?
We have a different view of these numbers, to wit: "According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul." You can slice and dice all you want, but the fact is that Obama is cleaning up among deployed troops.
"...nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions..."
Especially interesting, since deployed troops hear almost exclusively from right-wing demogogues on the Armed Forces Network: Rush, Hannity (who gets prime drive time) and Dr. Laura.
Those numbers strongly suggest that they can't stomach either Bush or McBush.
On the other hand, the total number of deployed making contributions is only 160 total. That is an awfully small number. I think Dan is right about military folk not doing much political donating.
The heavy skew toward Obama among the tiny group of contributors could be for another reason. Those who favor Obama (or simply dislike Bush/McBush) may be forced to suppress their opinions due to pressure from superiors and peers. Making the Obama contribution might be one of the few ways to relieve the pressure.
We'll see.
You can slice and dice all you want, but the fact is that Obama is cleaning up among deployed troops.
Getting contributions from less than a thousand people is "cleaning up?"
Word.
Tulsan, when I read
I think Dan is right...
I darn near spewed chewed-up graham cracker and coffee all over my monitor, I was so shocked! Made my day!
Seriously, I appreciate the acknowledgement.
Sorry about the danger to your monitor.
But I do agree that the point of interest is why the number is so low rather than the significance of the skew. It's just too small to infer anything other than what you did.
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