Larry Lessig, the Harvard law professor perhaps best known for his copyright activism, shifted his focus in 2007 to corruption. Lessig has an interesting bio: He was, for example, the youngest member of the Republican delegation at the 1980 convention. He cheered Ronald Reagan on. He went on to clerk for two influential conservative judges: Richard Posner and Justice Antonin Scalia. His presentation style is much admired; he puts the power in PowerPoint (though these days he uses Keynote).

Lessig has the cover article in The Nation this week. A shorter version is in the LATimes today. Titled The Fundraising Congress, Lessig says Congress’s pathological reliance on campaign cash demands a radical change to its corrupt machinery:

On the right and the left, there is an unstoppable recognition that our government has failed. But both sides need to understand the source of its failure.

At the center of our government lies a bankrupt institution: Congress. Not financially bankrupt, at least not yet, but politically bankrupt. Increasingly, faith in Congress has collapsed. Just 21% of Americans approve of how Congress does its job. Why? Because Congress has developed a pathological dependence on campaign cash. The U.S. Congress has become the Fundraising Congress.

Let’s take it back:

What’s needed now is a citizens movement to stop the Fundraising Congress. We need to demand change, including publicly-funded elections, a seven-year ban on lobbying for any member of Congress and amendments to the Constitution to assure that reform can survive the Supreme Court of John G. Roberts Jr.

Speaking of the Roberts’ Court, some sorely needed comic relief from The Onion, yesterday, Supreme Court Allows Corporations To Run For Political Office. No, really, it’s a joke.

SEE ALSO: What legislation are we rallying around and what are the chances it will pass?

LATER: Lessig tweets, “The Nation cover — amazing corruption art [link].”