From: WAND_M@gold.colorado.edu
Subject: Votes not for sale in Colorado
Followup-To: amend2-discuss@cs.colorado.edu
Originator: doherty@ucsu.Colorado.EDU
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 02:58:24 GMT

>From Editorials, Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs
December 15, 1992

Money has been called the mother's milk of politics, but in last month's 
election in Colorado, mother's milk had a sour taste.  In one major ballot 
issue after another, the side that spent the most money came up short--a 
pattern that reflects well on Colorado's initiative and referendum processes.

Political reformers such as Common Cause portray money as the root of all that 
is evil in politics, distorting the will of the people and buying elections for 
the rich and the special interests.  But Colorado's recent election results 
demonstrate that money alone is not enough to buy success when an informed 
electorate goes to the polls.

In the four most publicized and contentious issues on the November ballot--tax 
limitation, a ban on gay-rights laws, school vouchers and a sales-tax hike for 
public schools--the side that spent the most money pushing its cause lost in 
each race.  Consider:

Opponents of Amendment 1, a measute to limit taxes and spending in Colorado, 
outspent its supporters 2-1, $602,349 to $285,861.  Yet tax-limitation carried 
statewide 54-46.

Opponents of Amendment 2, which prohibits laws granting special legal status to 
homosexuals, outspent backers of the amentment $681,485 to $378,792 (see our 
comment above) (note - this refers to previously-submitted editorial "Amendment 
2's grass roots.  Wand.).  Yet Amendment 2 passed 53-47.

Advocates of Amendment 6, Gov. Roy romer's plan to raise $330 million a year 
for public schools, outspent the opposition by a whopping margin of 8-1.  Yet 
the sales tax went down, 46-54.

Finally, backers of Amendment 7, a plan to issue school vouchers to Colorado 
families, slightly outspent opponents of the plan, $552,380 to $505,000.  
Nonetheless, vouchers were defeated 2-1 in the statewide vote.

It would be foolish to suggest money makes no difference in politics, but the 
above exampled make clear that an advantage in fund-raising, even a huge 
advantage, does not guarantee success on Election Day.

This fact should calm any fears that Colorado's initiative and referendum
processes are for sale to the highest bidder.  No matter how many 
advertisements or mailers bombard voters, they will ultimately make up their 
own minds.

Colorado voters may not always make the right decision on every ballot 
question, but they are certainly not sheep who blindly follow the side with the 
biggest campaign budget.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corrections, new info, and requests for info: amend2-info@cs.colorado.edu
Administrative comments                     : amend2-mod@cs.colorado.edu
General Discussion                          : amend2-discuss@cs.colorado.edu
Boulder/Denver area local meetings/events   : amend2-local@cs.colorado.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to a list, send mail to Majordomo@cs.colorado.edu, with
        subscribe <list-name>
in the BODY of the message.  For multiple lists, use multiple lines.

Newsgroups: co.politics.amend2.info