Talk about trying to buy votes.
In an effort to get college kids involved in his presidential campaign, former Gov. Mitt Romney promised student fundraisers they can keep 10 percent of the money they generate for him as long as they raise more than $1,000.
Bribery should not be a part of garnering political support. Nor is it likely to actually encourage people who wouldn’t otherwise have campaigned for Romney to get behind him. Campaigning is about backing the candidates and what they stand for. Every election season, volunteers spend countless hours making phone calls, begging for funds and doing whatever they can to convince voters that their nominee is the right person for the job.
Anyone who needs financial compensation before they are willing to give up their time is getting involved for the wrong reasons. And these campaigners will likely be less effective. Those who work pro bono have the necessary passion.
And by assuming young voters will only take an interest in the election if they are tangibly rewarded, Romney is underestimating America’s youth. What kind of example is he setting for new voters who are pulled into politics through this scheme? Though campaigning is often about money, no one should need a handout to inspire their interest in the country.
It is important to get more young people excited about the election, though. But Romney must realize he can rile up students without promising them money. By simply devoting more time to his Internet endeavors, Romney would appeal to more students than he will by offering them cash.
He should learn from his opponents. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has an official MySpace.com page. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama each have more than 500 groups devoted to them on Facebook.com. U.S. Sen. John McCain has almost 300 groups. Romney has fewer than 200 groups. And only 13 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Romney, according to a March 23 American Research Group Inc. poll.
However, Romney’s campaign has been meticulously calculated from the start. The Michigan native seems determined to say and do anything that will land him in the White House. The once-pro-choice advocate has publicly denounced abortion since running for president. He joined the National Rifle Association after promoting gun control earlier in his career. And his fundraising plan is his latest effort to get votes from a specifically cultivated group.
If Romney is elected, the public has no way to determine what he will really stand for. Instead of bribing college students, Romney should champion issues they care about, such as lower interest rates on federal student loans, more available grants and a better job market.
The best candidates are truly ardent about their issues and focus their campaigns on them. Romney’s latest ploy once again brings into question how much he genuinely cares about issues and how much he really wantes the public to care about them.