'Street money' or gutter politics?

A controversy in Philadelphia is shining a light on a traditional big-city political practice that’s running head-long into Sen. Barack Obama’s transformational “new politics” of change. And come next Tuesday, Obama could be the loser in this confrontation. The practice is called “street money”: cash from a candidate’s campaign funneled to the city’s Democratic party ward bosses, who in turn parcel it out to their foot soldiers in the days leading up to an election. For decades, everybody who really wanted to get elected has played along.

Except Barack Obama, apparently. The Los Angeles Times reports that Obama’s campaign has put the word out it’s not going to deal in “street money.” It’s an entirely volunteer operation and doesn’t make payments, campaign officials say. In turn, Philly neighborhood party leaders warn that if he doesn’t show them the money, some may defect to Sen. Hillary Clinton in that all-important (now, how many times have we heard that this campaign season?) presidential primary April 22.

What kind of bucks are we talking about here? One Obama supporter estimated that the candidate needs to dole out between $400,000 and $500,000 to get the number of votes he needs to win Pennsylvania. “This is a machine city, and ward leaders have to pay their committee people,” ward leader Carol Ann Campbell told the Times.

So there you have it: the price tag for victory.

The Times story describes how street money has been used in Philadelphia and other cities. Former Vice President Walter Mondale, for example, recalls giving a speech on Jimmy Carter's behalf during the 1980 primary campaign, only to have a listener stand up at the end and ask: "Where's the money?"

Yes, the practice is legal. Yes, maybe half a million bucks pales in comparison to what the campaign is spending on TV ads. And yes, some folks in poor neighborhoods get cash for knocking on doors, handing out literature and talking to voters. But this practice comes uncomfortably close to political blackmail, bribery and vote-buying. If Obama’s principled stance can help bring an end to this style of “pay for play” politics, great.