Take the Money and Run (for Office)
b y Robert A. Levine
Take the Money and Run was the title of a 1969 Woody Allen comedy. But currently, the joke is on America’s citizens as politicians take all the money they can get from lobbyists and special interests when they run for office. Then, once elected, these officeholders do the bidding of those who have provided campaign funding, neglecting to meet the needs of their constituents and the nation as a whole. Instead of a comedy, taking the money and running has become a tragedy for Americans.
In 1962, Jesse Unruh, the Democratic Speaker of California’s State Assembly stated that “money is the mother’s milk of politics.” This truism is even truer today when politicians have to spend increasingly larger amounts each cycle to get elected or re-elected. And the need to generate funds is true for candidates at every level of government, from municipal to federal offices.
Currently, it seems as if officeholders operate in a permanent campaign mode. Their main objective has become doing whatever is necessary to get re-elected, rather than trying to develop legislation that will benefit the citizens they represent. Measures that serve a societal purpose or that will move America forward have become important to politicians only to the degree that they provide favorable publicity or help them in raising funds. Running for office requires huge sums of money, which means cultivating individual and corporate sources with deep pockets. Those willing to contribute to officeholders get access to them in a quid pro quo relationship, and may be given opportunities to shape legislation of concern. Unfortunately, this type of unethical linkage is legal as long as the quid pro quo cannot be proven. The corruption has to be much more blatant for prosecutors to intervene.
Recently, the political playbook has been re-written with the arrival of ‘super-PACs.’ These organizations that are supposedly ‘loosely’ affiliated with candidates can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions, or individuals. The money can then be put to use supporting the candidate and his or her positions, or to attack the opposition. Though the connection between money and politics was strong previously, the ‘superPACs’ will raise the influence of money to new heights. Politicians know that these groups will provide an opportunity for them to accumulate funds without restrictions on donors and then to use these funds as they see fit.
Though most politicians are content to take the money and run, it is not good for the nation to have the political process dominated by wealthy special interests who are able to use their wealth to have their way legislatively. The influx of money needs to be controlled, but it will not happen through the present Congress or the judiciary. A centrist third party that refuses to take money from lobbyists or special interests can deliver an antidote to the poison that threatens the American democratic system. This party could raise funds from small contributors over the Internet or accept donations to a committee and disburse them according to the donor’s wishes, but do it anonymously. Thus, the candidate would not know the source of his or her funds and would not be beholden to any special interest.
This is not fantasy. Enough Americans today are disgusted with the state of politics and would be inclined to contribute money to an alternative vision and vote for this entity’s candidates in an election. The use of social media and the Internet would allow this third party to reach large numbers of voters inexpensively to get its message across, perhaps even holding primary elections on-line.
The current political system is not working. It must be changed. A centrist third party could be the answer.
A VietNam vet and a Columbia history major who became a medical doctor, Bob Levine has watched the evolution of American politics over the past 40 years with increasing alarm. He knows he’s not alone. Partisan grid-lock, massive cash contributions and even more massive expenditures on lobbyists have undermined real democracy, and there is more than just a whiff of corruption emanating from Washington. If the nation is to overcome lockstep partisanship, restore growth to the economy and bring its debt under control, Levine argues that it will require a strong centrist third party to bring about the necessary reforms. Levine’s previous book, Shock Therapy For the American Health Care System took a realist approach to health care from a physician’s informed point of view; Resurrecting Democracy takes a similar pragmatic approach, putting aside ideology and taking a hard look at facts on the ground. In his latest book, Levine shines a light that cuts through the miasma of party propaganda and reactionary thinking, and reveals a new path for American politics. This post is cross posted from his blog.