From middle school class president races to the race to become the United States' head honcho, all campaigns require financing.
How could little William make those immaculate macaroni posters with the slogan "You'd be silly not to vote for Billy" if he didn't have his paper route and his parents to scrounge up $3 to supply the pasta, poster board and paste?
Similary, if Planned Parenthood didn't back the Democrats and Republicans didn't have the National Rifle Association supporting them, both presidential candidates would likely be out of a solid chunk of funding.
Logically, it follows that UF's Student Government parties also rely heavily on campaign contributions to get their candidates' names out there. So far, it seems that this year has been a good year to be a campaign fundraiser.
The Gator Party's $4,000 budget will be allocated primarily to T-shirts and other vote-for-us materials.
Thank heavens for UF campaign T-shirts. Without them, we'd never have gym shirts or post-party clean-up rags.
That wasn't aimed at the Gator Party. We just aren't particularly fond of any brightly colored shirts trying to say more than they really mean. Usually, both parties are guilty. We don't know how we find these shirts because we sure as hell don't buy them, but they continue to end up in odd corners of our houses.
On the other side of the ballot, the Orange and Blue Party is projecting more than $2,000 to fund their fall candidates' efforts. Obviously, they'll have less to draw from than SG's reigning champs, but that's a pretty hefty number for a fall semester. With all that money, we're expecting to see a strong push from the annual runners-up.
Where does all the money come from?
Are SG parties lobbied by federal interest groups?
Do SG candidates tour the county kissing babies and stopping by the High Springs five-and-dime for family photo-ops?
No, you twit - they corral their money by encouraging their Student Senate candidates to donate a few bucks. Candidates' parents help out a bit, too.
Why wouldn't Mom and Pop lend a hand? After all, they donated all that macaroni to their baby boy back then, and look at where it has gotten him. Just think, what was once merely a $1 box of shells might have morphed into the political springboard for the next Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer or Jesse Ventura.
Both parties seem to have an abundance of active members this year, which hopefully will translate into a more active constituency. OK, we realize that's a long shot, given our own laziness, but it's a thought.
Candidates from each party seem to be legitimately working and pushing to accomplish something this semester. Maybe they're fired up because it's also presidential election season, or maybe they're just faking the hell out of it until the polls close. Truthfully, their reasoning doesn't matter.
What this fall's election will come down to (just like any other) is how many of us get off our football-addicted behinds and drag ourselves to the polls. It really isn't that hard.
These people are hustling day and night for our votes, so why can't we show the slightest bit of effort to at least know what issues are being addressed?
We don't owe it to them to vote, but it couldn't hurt to stay informed about the place where we spend most of our time.
