I have to admit that I am torn by the notion that Obama may bypass public financing It backs out of an agreement while also respecting the intention behind the agreement.
For me the intention behind the public financing of campaigns is to minimize the disproportionate influence of special interests while reducing the amount of time a candidate needs to spend pandering for money. Obama has achieved this with his unprecedented internet collections from over 1.2 million donors. John McCain’s candidacy is relatively less motivating to his supporters and so Public Financing may look attractive to him.
The current laws for public financing do not anticipate that so much money could be raised from so many people. And now we learn that perhaps it should by factoring it into the calculations for how much public money is needed to create a level playing field. Or if we are bold enough we might consider eliminating most campaign finance rules except those limiting the amount that can be given while limiting the source of funds to only individuals and not legal entities. This logic of limiting how much an individual can give is that, while each of us should have a right to be heard, we should not have a right to block our opposition from being heard.
Since the GOP has been the main obstacle to public financing (by equating speech and money) perhaps this changing landscape will inspire their leadership in reforming the guidelines for fair elections free of special interest influence.
Nothing like a turn of events to convert opponents into champions.
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.