Money matters

Speaking of money, if you happen to be one of the many swaggering around the Spa City these days with too much of it, swagger on down to Cady Hill for some Republican revelry. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be cutting up a rug there tonight, sporting his best “give me cash” face during a $1,000-per-plate extravaganza hosted by Team Whitney.

Rumor is, there will be a mid-event money fight after the main course, where patrons will viciously pelt one another with rolls of hundred-dollar bills before having a good chortle over some Cubans and aged Tawny. Who knows, maybe John Hendrickson will auction off his new Rolex to tuck a few more dollars into Rudy’s pockets.

Arguably the GOP forerunner with a sparse five months remaining before Iowa caucus, New York’s mayor has raised nearly a third of his $35.8 million in the Empire State. And he’s hoping to hit the Spa City like Rick Massey hits banks: quickly and for some liquid cash.

Of course, it should be noted that Giuliani doesn’t have a great track record here. His last jaunt to Saratoga Springs ended with city Dems crying foul over his ultimately unsuccessful stumping for banished Congressman John Sweeney at the city fire department. But this time, Rudy has made sure to keep his travels brief, private and confined to either the Whitney mansion or the Saratoga Race Course. Perhaps he’ll wager a bit of his dinner spoils on the Alabama stakes.

Remarkably, his Democratic doppelganger hasn’t bothered to venture north of the Dolly Parton bridge to milk the Spa City cash cow, now that cash season is in full swing. But with a state war chest of more than $13.8 million amassed already, the senator doesn’t appear to be concerning herself with such endeavors.

In the mean time, the public remains altogether too complacent with the almost omnipresent fundraising that’s transpiring. Yes, getting into the White House is an expensive endeavor for everyone involved and one that has almost become a sort of economy in and of itself.

But the opulence of these campaigns has become a deplorable blight on the face of this country. And while many among the wealthy are quick to bitch about their burden of taxes, most of them don’t blink twice about dropping a grand on a smooth-talking politician. It’s sad to think that the billions of dollars that will inevitably be raised and spent by these candidates and others could easily fund as a cure for cancer or universal health care. Instead, this cash will be squandered for politicians to stump on such lofty aspirations, only to do nothing about them while seated in the Oval Office.