During the Vietnam War, the great novelist Norman Mailer said that peace was an issue that every politician had gone to bed with, but which somehow remained a virgin. I think campaign finance reform is a lot like that. Everyone is in favor of it, in theory.
In favor, that is, of their version of it. Periodically some reform does get passed, at the state or the national level, but the boys in the backroom are busy ferreting out the loopholes even before the bill is signed.
And even when reforms are meaningful, things never seem to stay reformed for very long. That‘s not to say it isn‘t worthwhile making an effort. There are some good things about the package of bills State Rep. Chris Ward has introduced. I especially like the provisions requiring more frequent disclosure of campaign fundraising and spending.
I also think requiring random audits of campaign committees is a good thing. But next you have to ask, what is the penalty for violating the laws?
What this is really all about is money. Crusaders for campaign finance reform commonly aim at the way we finance elections. Thanks to earlier rounds of reform, it is no longer legal for me to write Jennifer Granholm’s re-election campaign a check for $ 5 million dollars.
Thanks to poverty, I couldn’t do that anyway. However, if I were rich, and felt like it, I could give $5 million to a group which would buy TV commercials that would say that “Jennifer Granholm is the most brilliant person who has ever existed.
“Dick DeVos, on the other hand, would turn Michigan into the Sahara Desert.” As long as I didn’t add who to vote for, this would be just fine.
However, while I can’t give DeVos all my money, he can spend all of his if he wants to. He seems to be closing in on a new record for spending on a gubernatorial campaign. Who owns the old one?
Granholm, who won last time. When it comes to winning elections, is it better to self-finance your campaign, meaning, effectively, that only multi-millionaires can play? Or is it better to be beholden to different groups and individuals for your campaign cash? That’s hard to say.
But it is easy to see that money influences particular lawmakers. Four years ago, the legislators quietly raised the “paperwork charge” car dealers are allowed to charge you from $40 to $160, giving the dealers a big windfall. Turns out the dealers gave money to the campaigns of virtually every legislator who voted for that bill. That‘s why we need journalists watching our elected representatives, by the way.
There is only one way to get real reform. Put a strict cap on campaign spending, and give every candidate the same amount of publicly financed television time. And prevent the interests from donating to lawmakers.
Never happen? Maybe not. But it might be worth trying for. Better, that is, than the worst government money can buy.
“Jennifer Granholm is the most brilliant person who has ever existed.
LOL and THAT is the most ignorant assessment of Granholm ever printed.
Posted by: James D Horne | July 09, 2006 at 06:04 PM