A Baby Step Forward
Special Interests Getting The Boot.
From the breathless headlines, you would have thought that Americans finally made the sweeping reforms to our electoral system we so desperately need, like abolishing the electoral college, completely revamping the presidential primary system, and, if we were really serious about preserving our democracy, outlawing the corrosive influences of paid lobbyists and political contributions from sources other than private individuals.
But the victory being hyped is a much more modest one — the passage of a campaign finance reform bill in Connecticut.
And a minor reform bill at that.
The bill provides public funding to qualifying candidates in statewide campaigns who refuse private contributions. This is certainly an improvement over the practice of fat-cat contributions that currently corrupts the democratic process in Connecticut and most other states. But the bill is not without its problems.
First, it's optional. So if you are running for governor of Connecticut and you choose to use public funds, you can qualify for a $3 million grant. But if your opponent is Michael Bloomberg, who crosses state lines into Connecticut with a carpetbag stuffed with his personal fortune of $5 billion, and he chooses not to use public funds, guess who wins? (Hint: he just spent $77 million to purchase another term as mayor of New York.)
The bill also "set[s] the bar higher for third-party candidates" to take on Democrats and Republicans, according to Lowell Weicker. Weicker, still formidable after all these years, is promising to mount a legal challenge once the bill is signed into law.
But the real problem with the bill is that it doesn't go far enough. You can't have effective campaign reform without curbing spending as well as financing.
An election should be about communicating and debating ideas, not raising and spending money. Not only is the focus on money corrupting, it shifts focus away from the issues.
With a system like ours, no one should be surprised we end up with the likes of Tom DeLay and Randy Cunningham in Washington. And these two may prove to be just the tip of the iceberg, if lobbyist Jack Abramoff decides to cut a deal for himself.
So before we dislocate our shoulders slapping ourselves on the back for the great victory over the special interests in Connecticut, let's keep in mind one simple fact — there can be no real change in this country without real election reform.
