On Jul 13, 2006, at 10:30 AM, Jerry Monaco wrote:
> It doesn't seem to me that Doug's specific example (Hilary Clinton
> and health care) or his general criticism (contributors follow
> electoral trends) point to flaws in Ferguson's model.
As I remember Ferg's argument, the contribs *lead* the process, and electoral trends follow. Were that true, that would have been visible, say, before the 1994 Rep sweep, but it wasn't. The contribs followed the electoral trend. Ditto post-2000, with a shift among Wall Street givers to Bush. Obviously big money is very influential, but it can't call the shots with the discipline that Ferg attributes to it.
Doug