I try to pace out my comments about Campaign Finance Reform to avoid burning out the few of you folks who care. But when the Wall Street Journal, the newspaper to the people who run the world, writes an editorial on the subject I can’t let that just go by without a comment from a Moderate Voice.
In The Reformers Who Ruined Politics the Journal vents that regulation is undermining freedom of speech and giving advantage to the liberal interest groups.
If this campaign proves anything, it is that more reform on the post-Watergate model will only compound the McCain-Feingold-Clinton-Obama folly. The rules themselves are the scandal, empowering the powerful and making it harder for voters to judge the indebtedness of candidates to individuals or interest groups.
The better path is more simplicity and transparency, so office seekers can raise whatever amount they can from whomever they want so long as it is reported immediately on the Internet. It’s time we reclaimed politics from the reformers who ruined it.
Their remedy is still public policy for sale to the highest bidder. Is it realistic that consumer groups can compete with the unlimited donations from multinational juggernauts?
What is more realistic is to allow any candidate to take money from any source and support from any third party but to make sure that any credible opponents has equal amounts of cash and resources to make sure the public can hear equally from all points of view. Under these conditions most donors would probably take a pass rather than have their funds neutralized with public money. The result is that almost all campaigns would be funded at relatively modest levels, at least by current standards.
Just because the current regulations on campaign finance are deficient doesn’t mean that a better approach doesn’t exist. Let’s try something else until we find what works better.
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.