News flash: Professors are people, too

There's slow news days, and then there's slow news days.

Texas university professors overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates in their campaign contributions, a Houston Chronicle study of Federal Election Commission records has found.

Faculty members have contributed $406,384 to Democratic candidates or committees in the 2008 campaign season -- 71 percent of their political donations. Republicans have received $135,216, or 24 percent, of donations through the end of March. University personnel gave $27,915 to nonpartisan political action committees or third party candidates.

The professors' top pick was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. She received $129,721 in contributions, ahead of fellow Democrat Barack Obama with $104,911. Republican nominee-presumptive John McCain lagged far behind, in third place with $25,130 in college contributions.

The professors favored Democratic organizations, such as the Democratic National Committee, over Republican groups by more than a 3-to-1 margin.

Gosh, now whyever might this be? Might the fact that the DCCC and the DSCC are crushing their Republican rivals by more than a three-to-one edge have something to do with it? How about the fact that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have combined to raise five times as much as John McCain through the first quarter of 2008? Is there anything remotely newsworthy about the fact that this demographically tiny group of people is acting very much like the greater population as a whole? I guess "Professors reflect society's preferences" doesn't sell papers. Doesn't even fill a news hole. So we get this instead. I feel so much better informed now.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on May 06, 2008 to Show Business for Ugly People