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DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.
This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:
Music by musicians with a political goal this election year …
A question from a listener about how much American presidentialcandidates spend on their campaigns …
And a report about a popular vacation town in the AmericanSouthwest.
Sedona
The third presidential debate was held last week in Tempe,Arizona, near Phoenix. The southwestern state of Arizona is knownfor its beautiful red rock formations and the Grand Canyon. BetweenPhoenix and the Grand Canyon is a town of about ten thousand peoplecalled Sedona. Millions of people travel there each year. BobDoughty tells us why.
BOB DOUGHTY: Sedona is a desertcommunity about one thousand four hundred meters above sea level.Last year, USA Today newspaper named Sedona the most beautiful placein the United States. Some of the oldest rocks on Earth surround thearea, called Red Rock Country. Each morning and night, the rockformations change colors. Light from the sun as it rises and setscauses the formations to change from yellow, to orange, to brightred, even purple. For visitors, one of the best ways to see thisnatural beauty is to ride jeep vehicles that can climb on the rocks.
Sedona is also famous for its growing arts community and NativeAmerican history. Hundreds of years ago, Native American Indiansconsidered the Red Rocks holy. They traveled great distances toperform ceremonies on them. Only the bravest chiefs and medicine menwere permitted to enter the rock formations.
Theodore Carl Schnebly named the town after his wife innineteen-oh-two. At that time, six families lived in the area. TheAmerican movie industry has filmed hundreds of motion pictures andtelevision shows in Sedona. The town’s natural beauty looks like noother place on Earth.
One of the first Hollywood movies to show Sedona was “The Call ofthe Canyon,” filmed in nineteen twenty-three. In nineteenforty-seven, the area became famous because of the film “Angel andthe Badman” starring John Wayne. The next year, actor RobertMitchum’s film, “Blood On The Moon”, increased public interest inSedona.
Today, about four million people visit Sedona each year. Withthat many travelers, you would think the town would be a busy place.But it is not. About half of the town is privately owned. The otherhalf is part of the Coconino National Forest.
Cost of Elections
DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes in an e-mailfrom Guangzhou, China. Vicky Mok asks how much will be spent on thepresidential election this year and how the candidates pay for it.
The Federal Election Commission records how much money is spenton elections. Campaigns must keep detailed records and report themto the F.E.C.
The commission’s job is to enforce the Federal Election CampaignAct. Congress approved the law to stop wealthy individuals andgroups from unfairly influencing elections. The act limits how muchindividuals and groups can give to candidates. Individual gifts tocandidates are now limited to two thousand dollars.
A mix of private gifts and tax money pay for the primarycampaigns and the presidential campaigns. Federal law barscompanies, labor groups and foreign citizens from giving tocampaigns. But political action groups, and state and local partycommittees can accept gifts from individuals and combine the money.They can give up to five thousand dollars of this money tocandidates.
Every American who pays income tax can send three dollars to thePresidential Election Campaign Fund. This fund is used to help payfor political campaigns. It is also used to pay for the conventionsof the major political parties and some of the convention costs ofsmaller parties. This year, the Presidential Election Campaign Fundprovided about fifteen million dollars to help pay for theDemocratic and Republican conventions.
The major party candidates – President George W. Bush and SenatorJohn Kerry — each received about seventy-five million dollars infederal matching funds.
The total amount spent on the two thousand four presidentialelection will not be known until the campaigns give their finalreports for the year. But we can report the amount received by allthe candidates up to August thirty-first — about six hundredsixty-two million dollars.
But that amount does not include money given to groups notconnected to the campaigns. These groups can spend money toinfluence the election for or against a candidate. And there are nolimits on the amount individuals can give to these groups. A groupcalled The Center for Public Integrity reports on spending by fiveof these groups. It says these groups had raised about three hundredtwenty-three million dollars as of the beginning of October.
Vote for Change Tour
Some popular American musicians joined together in an effort toinfluence the presidential election this year. Bruce Springsteen,Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam and REM were some of theartists to join the “Vote for Change” tour. Gwen Outen tells usmore.
GWEN OUTEN: About twenty musicians who support John Kerry forpresident traveled around the country for two weeks this month. Theyperformed more than thirty concerts in nine states where theelection is expected to be the closest.
The final show was October eleventh in Washington, D.C. It wasbroadcast live around the nation on radio, television and theInternet. During the show, John Fogerty performed his song,”Fortunate Son.”
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The MoveOn political organization presented the “Vote for Change”tour. The organization said it hoped to raise about ten milliondollars. The money went to another political organization calledAmerica Coming Together. That group used the money to sign up newvoters.
MoveOn says the “Vote for Change” tour was the first of its kind.It was the largest group of musicians to come together to try toinfluence an election. Other musical movements have raised money forsocial causes. For example, the yearly Farm Aid show raises moneyfor American farmers.
Musicians supporting President Bush did not have a concert tourlike the “Vote for Change” tour. However, many entertainers supportthe president. They include the Gatlin Brothers, Kid Rock, SaraEvans and Jessica Simpson. Many of them performed during theRepublican National Convention in New York City this summer. Countrysinger Lee Ann Womack also supports the president. She sang thissong, “I Hope You Dance,” at a gathering for President bush in Ohio.
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DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. Send your questions aboutAmerican life to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington,D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.
Or write to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name andpostal address. And you can also e-mail us a picture of yourself. Itwill appear at voaspecialenglish dot com if we use your question.
Our program was written by Jill Moss and Mario Ritter. CatyWeaver was our producer.
I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week forVOA’s radio magazine in Special English.