Giving Campaign Finance Reform a Pat(riot) on the Back!
Unfortunately, it isn't as big as it should be. This should be headline news every day, as campaign finance reform would impact everything going through Washington. If it were enacted, CFR would be CPR for our democracy. Currently, legislators seem to base their votes not on what is the right thing to do but on what the people who bribed them want. Thanks to the current system, we have NAFTA, WTO, telemarketing, an energy policy out of the 1930s, and an economic stimulus plan which would allow rich corporations to hide profits tax-free overseas.
The major problem with the current system is it obstructs the first amendment. People with no money effectively have no speech. Is a politician going to listen to a person with a $100,000 contribution or a person with $10.00 contribution? The answer should be he or she will listen to both. However, that's pretty rare these days. It's become very difficult for politicians to look past the $100,000 contributions/bribes.
That can change, however, if a good campaign finance reform is enacted. Unfortunately, a lot of the plans do very little or nothing. The idea is to get the people back into politics. Most don't do it because they provide loopholes that give the economic elite avenues to continue corrupting the system.
Bruce Ackerman has the answer: The Patriot Card.
Each candidate gets $1,000,000 starting fund. Each registered voter gets a little debit card with $25 on it. That voter can use that card to support the candidate he or she wants to win. The candidate can only spend the initial fund and the Patriot card money transferred to him or her. Everyone has a voice, and everyone's voice is equal.
Your $25 contribution is as important as Bill Gates' or Ted Turner's or Kenny-Boy Lay's contribution. Gates', Turner's, or Lay's contribution are as important as your contribution. Everyone has his or her first amendment right intact.
Solving the problems in our democracy is two-fold. First, we need campaign finance reform. Second, voters have to pay attention.
It must be a combination of the two, though. If people are going to continue ignoring the work--or lack thereof--being done for them by their elected officials then it doesn't matter if there is campaign finance reform. Likewise, if all of the politicians are corrupted by the current campaign financing (or by bad reform), it doesn't matter if we pay attention.
With the Patriot Card plan, we'll have bribe-free elections. We'll have everyone enjoying free speech. We'll have politicians growing ears. We'll have a government responsible for the people and to the people.
We'll have elections that are actually meaningful!
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The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer and do not neccessarily reflect those of the rest of the family.
© 2002, Mark Wentz