Let’s talk about money because it is being spent this week in the primary and for elections that will be decided on Thursday.

Now, I think we need to be clear, anyone running for office is going to have to have some money in the bank. As anyone who knows me gets  that I am not a fan of Citizens United but that issue isn’t going away anytime soon.  If a candidate decides to run for office they have to put in call time and find financial allies before they even put on their candidate’s hat. Raising money and then the actual physical running for office are two different beasts that walk hand-in-hand.

As things have shifted with aggressive Super Pacs funding a variety of campaigns in the state, there are a couple of things to look at. If you didn’t think the pro-voucher/charter school debate was important, look no further than the race between John DeBerry and Jeanne Richardson.

Richardson

Students First, a pro-voucher SuperPac, has pumped over $100,000 into the ground game putting their money and bets on DeBerry. Now DeBerry is about the most Republican member of the Democratic party I’ve ever seen. No offense Rep. Deberry, you are about as much of a democrat as I am a beekeeper. I’m not expressing an opinion on the charter school debate here, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this is getting more and more political and that the money in politics right now has gotten out of control.

And that isn’t going to end anytime soon.

The question is, to me at least, are we financially supporting candidates or are we investing in them for a legislative payoff down the road? That is a rhetorical question.

Andy Sher has an article up today that Super Pacs are tossing the money about in the state. The thing is though the cash is coming from very conservative places and people. Go read his article, I can wait. (Lee Beaman is back with his checkbook, campers.)

How do common folks, just regular people, compete with that kind of money in races that in the past didn’t see this high volume of, for lack of a better word, investment.

Tom Humphrey had a story about ALEC over the weekend regarding that two elected democrats have quit the organization. ALEC is a powerful beast as well when it comes to influence.

“We think Tennessee legislators are being bought and paid for by an exclusive network of corporate lobbyists and special interest groups,” said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action.