Work, Then Party

By Michael Mechanic

News: Who's more conservative, plastic surgeons or brain surgeons? We tabulated presidential giving to see whether a donor's occupation can predict which party will get the money.

May/June 2008 Issue

STATED OCCUPATION	TOTAL GIVEN	GOP SHARE DEM SHARE
if you can't do, teach
Musician	$351,273	21% 79%
Music Teacher	$50,501	40% 60%
subject matters
Science Teacher	$14,216	3% 97%
Art Teacher	$16,252	19% 81%
Math Teacher	$15,578	26% 74%
English Teacher	$15,373	56% 44%
paulites gone wild
Servant	$937	100% Ron Paul
Sex Slave	$425	100% Ron Paul
Wizard	$1,500	100% Ron Paul
Pizza Guy	$350	100% Ron Paul
wheels of fortune
Driver	$103,875	62% 38%
Chauffeur	$7,165	78% 22%
tithing at windmills
Reverend	$7,888	16% 84%
Rabbi	$32,392	18% 82%
Priest	$57,858	38% 62%
Minister	$196,723	49% 51%
Preacher	$3,023	78% 22%
In Vestements
Episcopal Priest	$14,887	7% 93%
Catholic Priest	$26,410	68% 32%
capital gains
ceo	$7,557,381	27% 73%
Executive	$10,315,259	50% 50%
legal tender
Attorney	$47,439,316	20% 80%
Lawyer	$3,723,192	42% 58%
gender bender
Businesswoman	$74,465	11% 89%
Businessman	$772,480	42% 58%
Businessperson	$36,835	62% 38%
take a mulligan
Professional Golfer	$15,225	68% 32%
Golf Professional	$17,916	46% 54%
push poll
ob-gyn	$34,910	5% 95%
Midwife	$6,890	35% 65%
okay, okay, we're liberal
Cartoonist	$12,968	8% 92%
Reporter	$19,233	7% 93%
Journalist	$136,393	9% 91%
Editor	$430,724	16% 84%
Right Turn
Truck Driver	$123,460	73% 27%
Trucker	$9,540	83% 17%
farm bills
Grower	$6,515	80% 20%
Rancher	$398,981	62% 38%
Farmer	$778,775	60% 40%
Organic Farmer	$4,931	100%
benchwarmers
Judge	$104,011	21% 79%
Arbitrator	$38,713	1% 99%
no objection
Prosecutor	$19,107	17% 83%
Public Defender	$24,829	2% 98%
cooking the books
Chef	$92,934	27% 73%
Pastry Chef	$8,017	100%
Homebodies
Homemaker	$30,221,323	52% 48%
Housewife	$369,391	56% 44%
House Husband	$632	100%
meet the parents
Mom/Mother	$174,554	19% 81%
Dad/Father	$2,791	34% 66%
guardian angels
Stay-at-Home Mom	$33,992	39% 61%
Stay-at-Home Dad	$7,309	41% 59%
dog eat dog
Dog Trainer	$4,585	100%
Dog Groomer	$4,997	34% 66%
Dog Walker	$1,601	48% 52%
great outdoors party
Sportsman	$1,500	100%
Fishing Guide	$3,300	100%
Hunting Guide	$2,300	87% 13%
uh, maybe not
Conservationist	$22,917	21% 79%
Ecologist	$5,874	14% 86%
Biologist	$45,324	16% 84%
novel ideas
Tinker	$671	100%
Tailor	$6,662	33% 67%
Soldier	$71,726	68% 32%
Intelligence Analyst	$8,644	38% 62%
knaves all three
Butcher	$996	100%
Baker	$18,028	61% 39%
Candle Manufacturer	$500	100%
cut and run
Barber	$8,702	70% 30%
Hairdresser	$30,321	26% 74%
where does it hurt?
Nurse Practitioner	$143,087	16% 84%
Physician	$7,737,760	40% 60%
Surgeon	$380,936	52% 48%
it's our specialty
Oncologist	$10,050	100%
Pediatrician	$146,797	28% 72%
Dermatologist	$42,150	46% 54%
brain vs. beauty
Neurosurgeon	$114,582	45% 55%
Plastic Surgeon	$49,548	65% 35%
i'm in charge here
Manager	$3,412,186	44% 56%
Supervisor	$127,027	49% 51%
Foreman	$14,321	77% 23%
rank and file
Worker	$15,159	45% 55%
Employee	$36,349	65% 35%
Laborer	$31,393	64% 36%
Construction Worker	$9,030	84% 16%
base builders
Developer	$1,312,880	49% 51%
Builder	$382,196	55% 45%
Contractor	$1,107,554	64% 36%
homies
Realtor	$1,659,597	31% 69%
Landlord	$49,515	58% 42%
message in a bottle
Winemaker	$16,178	11% 89%
Vintner	$44,078	27% 73%
seeing green
Landscape Architect	$93,876	22% 78%
Landscaper	$51,177	41% 59%
education matters
Elementary School Teacher	$9,311	54% 46%
High School Teacher	$26,300	16% 84%
Professor	$2,957,950	14% 86%
Preschool Teacher	$8,924	100%
number crunchers
Statistician	$48,406	9% 91%
Mathematician	$35,776	14% 86%
Scientist	$544,854	19% 81%
Physicist	$113,371	27% 73%
Chemist	$124,873	31% 69%
Rocket Scientist	$2,150	72% 28%
mind your elders
Retired	$46,623,171	72% 28%
soup and soaps
Self-Employed	$1,594,188	44% 56%
Unemployed	$187,185	58% 42%
big tippers
Waiter	$19,504	26% 74%
Waitress	$19,052	59% 41%
Server	$33,817	43% 57%
chain of command
Police Officer	$77,068	68% 32%
Police Sergeant	$7,541	59% 41%
Police Lieutenant	$3,585	50% 50%
Police Captain	$6,132	19% 81%
Police Chief	$3,148	84% 16%
Source: Huffington Post/FundRace.org: Presidential campaign donations Jan. 1, 2007-March 21, 2008. Numbers have been updated since a version of this chart appeared in print. Note that some of the totals combine common alternative spellings of a given profession (chauffer/chauffeur, businessman/business man, etc.).

Michael Mechanic is a senior editor at Mother Jones.

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Comments:

Roses are red, violets are blue.
Depending on what you give, is what
you do!

Posted by:ThomasJune 10, 2008 5:04:45 PMRespond ^

How do you square these data with the data on philanthropic giving?

"In Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books), Arthur C. Brooks finds that religious conservatives are far more charitable than secular liberals, and that those who support the idea that government should redistribute income are among the least likely to dig into their own wallets to help others." Chronicle of Philanthropy, November, 2006.

If I had to guess I'd guess two factors were at play: 1) The religious conservative tithes to his church; 2) The very rich conservative gives to foundations and NPO's that serve his own interests. The great bulk of political contributions comes from large donors, whereas the current Democratic base is very large, diverse, and donates in small amounts.

Does that work for you?

Posted by:Anatole FranceJune 12, 2008 1:08:09 AMRespond ^

Our roses are reddened
Our violets blued
Give to McCain
And you're sure to be scr_w_d!

;-)

Posted by:Anatole FranceJune 12, 2008 1:21:15 AMRespond ^

Did I miss firefighter/fireman?

Posted by:johnJune 14, 2008 6:14:45 AMRespond ^

Why do you insist on making fun of Ron Paul and show him as some whacko? Have you ever read any of his books or actually listened to what the man is saying? He talks about individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy.

Why is this so crazy? He's no longer running for President but, he still believes in liberty. Check out his new site here to learn more about Ron Paul and what he REALLY stands for:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Posted by:JoeJune 14, 2008 9:57:38 AMRespond ^

anyone who supports the gold standard is insane

Posted by:ron paul haterJune 14, 2008 3:03:26 PMRespond ^

Interesting when gold has held flat with oil for the last 10 years. Our fiat currency it has almost quadrupled in that same time period.

Something that could not happen quickly, or even if he had made presidency without a lot of help (and initiation) by Congress and Senate. The only reason a gold standard would not work is if our government cannot live within it's means. That is WHY it prints the money, offering more services without taxing more, which of course deflates the purchasing power and ultimately becomes what more educated people know as "inflation tax"

Posted by:DrewJune 14, 2008 8:25:22 PMRespond ^

It is probably quite safe to assume that 'Ron Paul Hater' has never read a single Ron Paul book or speech nor any of his intellectual influences. It is clearly easier to let others make up his/her mind especially when it is nicely packaged into sound bites by our trusty, reliable establishment media who are probably just as guilty in their ignorance.

The irony is that the rampant inflation that we are currently suffering in this country due to our fiat money enabled borrow / spend / print economy is the true insanity and tragedy. Sad really.

Posted by:ron paul loverJune 14, 2008 8:35:42 PMRespond ^

Unemployed giving primarialy to GOP... Talk about "What's the Matter with Kansas"!!!

Posted by:Howard CovitzJune 16, 2008 11:50:36 AMRespond ^

N's would be nice for the data above. They would turn a cute graph into a useful graph. 100% isn't meaningful if we're talking about 1 person.

Posted by:JustinJune 16, 2008 6:33:37 PMRespond ^

why make all the effort of collecting this data and then publish it so backwards? when using relative numbers it's slightly important to know what those numbers relate to. for "smart fearless journalism" this is silly garbage. let's just embrace and promote stereotypes.
you poo brains

Posted by:uh...June 17, 2008 1:45:36 PMRespond ^

So, instead of pegging the growth in the money supply to the Fed's actions, we're going to rely on how much gold happens to be dug out of the ground each year? Does that really make sense to you?

Posted by:A L FlanaganJune 17, 2008 5:49:19 PMRespond ^

I think Ron Paul is the only sane candidate out of either party, although I've been quite impressed with Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel as well. People who think it's insane to support the gold standard really ought to spend a little time researching economics, and understand why Ron Paul - an economics obsessive, in a realm of economically illiterate politicians - supports the gold standard.

Posted by:Clay ShentrupJune 17, 2008 10:37:05 PMRespond ^

What about Social Studies Teachers?

This one supports an Obama/Richardson ticket.

McCain/McSame/McSlimey would only continue the disastrous policies of the last 8 years, however slimy his spin becomes. Like the Shrub and Daddy Bush, he doesn't get it.

Posted by:PlaynBassJune 18, 2008 11:59:37 AMRespond ^

I follow the rule, "Never fall in love with a politician". It seems that liberals are more inclined than are non-liberals to ignore this admonition. Herein lies a reason for the long blue bars and the shorter red bars in your presentation.

Posted by:Peter FowlerJune 19, 2008 2:54:48 PMRespond ^

"It seems that liberals are more inclined than are non-liberals to ignore this admonition. "

The previous eight years not withstanding, eh?

Posted by:DetarameJune 27, 2008 8:33:35 AMRespond ^


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