Wining and dining voters to win their favor has a long tradition in American politics. George Washington sauced up the electorate early in his career with “144 gallons of rum, punch, hard cider, and beer his election agent handed out — roughly half a gallon for every vote he received,” en route to victory for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses, according to Daniel Okrent in Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. In 1876, the Republican Party paraded two oxen through the streets of New York before roasting them in public and passing out sandwiches to an audience of 50,000 attendees.
“There was a longstanding bribery tradition where candidates would offer whiskey in exchange for the ‘correct’ vote,” says Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Marymount University and an expert on election law. Prior to the standardization of the ballot, Americans voted with colored slips of paper, which could be identified from afar by someone handing out free hooch.
“There was a longstanding bribery tradition where candidates would offer whiskey in exchange for the ‘correct’ vote,” says Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Marymount University and an expert on election law. Prior to the standardization of the ballot, Americans voted with colored slips of paper, which could be identified from afar by someone handing out free hooch.
Last week, on the first day of early voting in North Carolina, more than 700 people waited in torrential rain to attend a 7 a.m. event for billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. Among the attendees at Footnote Coffee in downtown Winston-Salem was 22-year-old Wake Forest undergrad Meredith Happy, who posted a Snapchat shortly after she walked into the event. The picture wasn’t of any campaign signage, or even the candidate, but of a kingly spread of food that included quiches, smoked salmon with capers and chopped eggs, a fruit platter, cookies, and assorted pastries. She captioned the photo “Daddy Bloomberg.”
“I’ve never seen food at a political event,” Happy said. “And I’ve been to a lot of them.”
Judging by the all-you-can-eat feasts that have become a hallmark of Bloomberg events throughout the country, his unconventional presidential campaign — which has seen him enter the race just days before the deadline to appear on the ballot in many states, skip the first four states of the Democratic primary, and totally eschew outside fundraising — is taking at least one old adage seriously: that the way to a voter’s heart is through their stomach. Pete Buttigieg may hold fundraisers in a wine cave, but Bloomberg brings wine to the voters, serving it alongside Cuban sandwiches and kosher pigs in a blanket at a Miami rally in late January. Two weeks ago, in Philadelphia, more than 1,000 attendees feasted on hoagies, honeyed Brie, and cheesesteaks at Bloomberg’s expense.
https://www.eater.com/2020/2/18/2114...mocrat-primary
“I’ve never seen food at a political event,” Happy said. “And I’ve been to a lot of them.”
Judging by the all-you-can-eat feasts that have become a hallmark of Bloomberg events throughout the country, his unconventional presidential campaign — which has seen him enter the race just days before the deadline to appear on the ballot in many states, skip the first four states of the Democratic primary, and totally eschew outside fundraising — is taking at least one old adage seriously: that the way to a voter’s heart is through their stomach. Pete Buttigieg may hold fundraisers in a wine cave, but Bloomberg brings wine to the voters, serving it alongside Cuban sandwiches and kosher pigs in a blanket at a Miami rally in late January. Two weeks ago, in Philadelphia, more than 1,000 attendees feasted on hoagies, honeyed Brie, and cheesesteaks at Bloomberg’s expense.
https://www.eater.com/2020/2/18/2114...mocrat-primary
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