WaPo: There is a simple way out of this swamp--public financing of congressional campaigns

[flpoljunkie]

Intoxicated on fundraising
By Ruth Marcus

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

"You don't have to drink. You just have to pay."

Has there ever been a better summary of how Washington works -- and the need for campaign finance reform -- than this line from a 2007 e-mail?

~There is a simple way out of this swamp -- public financing of congressional campaigns. That may seem like a long shot, but such a measure has been introduced in the House by Connecticut Democrat John Larson and North Carolina Republican Walter Jones, who have assembled an impressive 152 co-sponsors, and in the Senate by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin and 20 co-sponsors.

I've expressed concerns about the unintended consequences of public funding laws, but the Fair Elections Now Act is carefully crafted to avoid some of the pitfalls. It sets a high threshold for qualifying (candidates must raise at least $50,000 on their own in donations of $100 or less, all from residents of their home state). Grants would be generous enough to encourage participation ($360,000 for a House primary campaign, for instance) but would also be calibrated to reflect candidates' support, with additional matching funds of $4 in public money for each $1 raised by candidates themselves. The estimated cost is $2 billion to $3 billion per election.

Real money, but a promising way out of the sickening current arrangement of "you don't have to drink, you just have to pay."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/01/AR2010060102499.html

Urge your members of Congress to pass the Fair Elections Now Act:

https://secure3.convio.net/change/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=579

[patrice]

1. That's THE single thing that would change most of what is bothering ALL of the factions.

ALSO: Everytime I bring up paper ballots, marked by hand, and counted in public, on a national voting holiday, that falls on a Friday or Monday, or better yet on a Friday AND a Monday, - ANYONE - who hears that idea finds it very attractive and even verbally expresses support for it.

[Skink]

2. I'm kind of curious to see who the first totally bought corporate President is.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Jackpine digs out his scrying mirror, begins polishing the glass while chanting

ancient Runic incantations. Wisps of condensed steam hover in the air; the dark surface of the mirror seems to ripple like moving water; an image forms...

[Skink]

19. Oh yeah I forgot.

he didn't have a suit covered in logos though.

[Orsino]

4. Great, but how does that override a certain recent Supreme Court decision? n/t

[flpoljunkie]

5. The Dems are working on that with a legislative proposal. They need to get it passed, of course.

Republicans will, no doubt, work very hard to try and block it.

[avaistheone1]

6. I strongly support public financing for all public offices

particularly Congressional and the Presidency.

[flpoljunkie]

8. Yes. If 'money is speech' as the Supreme Court has ruled, then those without money have no voice.

This morning I heard Dean Blanchard, who runs a now defunct shrimp company in Louisiana, lament how this country has come under the control of corporations like BP and wonder why this has happened.

The answer, of course, is the 'legalized bribery' of our elected representatives in Congress through campaign contributions and the capture of regulatory agencies by those who are purportedly being regulated--like BP and MMS and Goldman Sachs and the SEC and the Federal Reserve. Big Oil and Big Banks are major political contributors.

We are a country where it is legal for lobbyists to bundle campaign contributions for members of Congress--who need to fill their campaign coffers to run TV ads--to convince the unwitting public to return them to office.

It is way past time to fix our corrupted political system. Some of our elected representatives get this, but will the Fair Elections Now Act ever be allowed by the Democratic leadership to come up for a vote. It certainly won't, if we do not make a lot of noise.

[chill_wind]

7. We need to make this a #1 focus. K & R.

[flpoljunkie]

9. Yes. It is the key to really 'taking back our government' from the powerful special interests.

Email your Congressional representatives now and urge the to pass the Fair Elections Now Act.

https://secure3.convio.net/change/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=579

[Mr. Sparkle]

10. I think there is only 4 to 5 months left in any possibility of getting this through both houses.

After the November elections when more republicans get elected, imo, the chance will be gone.

[flpoljunkie]

11. You are absolutely correct about that. There is no time to waste.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. K&R - it'll never happen, but this issue is by far the single greatest lever to changing US politics

[flpoljunkie]

13. I share your pessimism, but we must try to take our democracy back from the special interests.

As Barack said about healthcare, 'If not now, when? If not us, who?"' It surely will not be Republicans who pass the Fair Elections Now Act.

The only Republican cosponsor of the bill in the House is Walter Jones, R-NC. There are no Republican cosponsors in the Senate.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. I agree.

Everyone thinks lobbyists are the problem, but that's a strawman. Short of actual corruption - which is already a crime - their only power is derived from representing groups of voters and/or campaign fundraising. Fix the latter and you've got a level playing field - and you'd still have the right to petition your government to boot.

[flpoljunkie]

17. Yes. No one's outlawing lobbying, altho the industry/Congress revolving door needs to be shut.

[bigwillq]

15. K and R (nt)

[golfguru]

16. Why you want to get rid of 99% of political corruption? @#$%^&

You wanna get rid of lobbyists?
You wanna get rid of corrupt legislation favoring big donors?
You wanna get a clean set of politicians based on what people want?

You want entirely too much!

[flpoljunkie]

18. I prefer to call it a 'level playing field.'