Obama and the Culture Clash Over Street Money
Sen. Barack Obama has good numbers in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania. It's one of his strongest areas of support in the state. But all that support in the polls may not amount to much if he's not willing to fork over "street money."
The Los Angeles Times reports that Obama's campaign has said it will not pay the hundred of thousands of dollars that is normally paid to the city's Democratic operatives in return for getting out the vote. Obama says he wants to transform American politics and paying people to round up votes is not part of his plan. But as the Times reports, it's the way things work -- apparently legally -- in Philadelphia.
Carol Ann Campbell, a ward leader and Democratic superdelegate who supports Obama, estimated that the amount of street money Obama would need to lay out for election day is $400,000 to $500,000."This is a machine city, and ward leaders have to pay their committee people," Campbell said. "Barack Obama's campaign doesn't pay workers, and I guarantee you if they don't put up some money for those street workers, those leaders will most likely take Clinton money. It won't stop him from winning Philadelphia, but he won't come out with the numbers that he needs" to win the state.
State Rep. Dwight Evans said there may be a racial element to the dispute.
"They view it that the white people are getting all the money for TV," said Evans, an African American and former ward leader. "And they're the ones who are the foot soldiers on the street. They're predominantly African Americans, and they're not the ones who are getting that TV money."
Local political operatives hope Obama will change his mind before the primary date. And they see it as a matter of respect. "It's our tradition," Garry Williams, a ward leader based in north-central Philadelphia, said. "You don't come to someone's house and change the rules of someone's house."
8:20 AM ET | 04-11-2008 | permalink
