Features » July 2, 2007

Kissing up to K Street (cont’d)

Of course, many look at what’s going on and can’t believe their eyes. The same Democrats who are so eagerly selling out to corporate interests had decent voting records while in the minority. But majority power is the ultimate corruption aphrodisiac—and the ultimate truth serum. It’s easy to vote with the people when Big Money interests don’t need your vote. It’s much more difficult to vote with the people when you are in the majority and Big Money interests are relying on you, pressuring you, and seducing you.

Indeed, graft—honest and dishonest—is built into the system itself.

We scoff at developing countries for allowing rampant corruption. We pride ourselves on having a cleaner more democratic system. But the only real difference is that American corruption is codified into law. Instead of envelopes of cash, we have bundled campaign checks and PACs. Instead of shadowy hustlers, we have professional lobbyists. We live in a system that pretends to be clean, while being utterly dirty.

The only way to stop this is to create public financing systems whereby taxpayers provide qualifying candidates money that does not come with the expectation of specific legislative favors. Unless we as a nation invest public resources into our own democracy, we will continue to make a mockery of our democracy.

States like Maine, Arizona and Connecticut have created successful public financing systems that have brought down campaign costs and given political opportunities to aspiring candidates who aren’t just specialists in raising huge sums of money. And more states are considering making the move.

Similarly, strong public financing legislation was introduced this year in the Senate by Illinois’ Dick Durbin. But as usual, the pay-to-play culture in Washington is hostile to anything that threatens the existing system. And Politicians who reach Congress are masters of it.

Ultimately, I am an optimist, which of course makes me perpetually disappointed. But there is only so much cynicism and anger that a democracy can take before change is forced on the system.

Polls today show more Americans than ever understand just how corrupt their government is, and they are fighting back. Two years ago we were being told just how “red” and “conservative” America was, and then a Democratic platform of anti-corruption and economic populism swept the 2006 election. The public is disgusted with graft, and is willing to reward candidates and parties that are equally as disgusted. The party that figures out this truism, washes its hands of both honest and dishonest graft, and pursues a real reform agenda, is the party that will dominate American politics in a more thorough way than George Washington Plunkitt’s Tammany Hall and its modern-day successors in today’s Washington, D.C. ever dreamed.

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• Reader Comments

  “The only way to stop this is to create public financing systems whereby taxpayers provide qualifying candidates money that does not come with the expectation of specific legislative favors.”

  And just what protection would we have that this would not be corrupted also? Start with “qualifying candidates” without “expectation of specific legislative favors” who would vote for anyone? A candidate is “expected” to simultaneously support/oppose gay rights, military action, abortion, affirmative action….

  We are getting what we should expect from our “representatives”.  It is widely accepted that an individual cannot be elected by simply giving his honest opinion on any given issue. Any unguarded statement is immediately pounced on by the media seeking sensationalism and controversy — therefore we get parsing, pussyfooting and Pablum.

  How many times have we heard, “Unless he/she appeals to the (add special interest adjective here) voter, he will have no chance of being elected?

  Our economic numbers are faked, our job losses are spun, patriotism is scoffed at, our sports stars are on drugs, entertainment media glamorized the lowest ethical standards and family responsibilities are nearly nonexistent.
  If we could wrestle control away from a congress which votes itself automatic raises and is self policing, we would do as well be choosing our leaders through a lottery. (Which incidentally is now promoted far more widely than the value of education.)

  If we no longer value individual values…
  • Honesty: Clinton—“It was only about sex.” or Libby—“Yes, he lied, but there was no crime.”
  • Loyalty: Globalization profits at the expense of own own manufacturing workers.

  • Education: Imported high-end job seekers

  • Thrift: Reliance on consumer borrowing/spending

  • Respect for others: Racial, religious, gender, age discrimination

  Why should we expect them from groups of individuals in elected office?

  Posted by whattheheck on Jul 3, 2007 at 1:05 PM

  Politics as usual is getting worse by each Administration, it seems.
  Rather than a blind trust like whattheheck proposes, I’d like to see donations capped at $2000 and then only from VOTERS who are eligible to vote for that candidate. Plus, have penalties, prison time and forfeiture of funds, that are enforced.
  This would eliminate lobbyist’s, unions, 527’s, PAC’s and all other sources of BIG money.
  The biggest upside is that we wouldn’t be saddled with all the TV and radio ads near election time.
  The politicians wouldn’t be able to self-finance, they wouldn’t be able to hire spin doctor’s…they would have to debate the issues.
  And in this Internet age, all politician’s would have access to the web for promoting their ideas.
  whattheheck is right that we get the politician’s that we deserve. Too many are so disgusted with politic’s that they don’t pay any attention nor vote. Other’s are too busy keeping up with the Joneses to do more than listen to sound bites and photo-ops.
  Congress will never pass such legislation unless we force them to pass these kinds of changes.
  Witness Pelosi; she said all the right things…then went to a $10,000/plate dinner. And there went my hopes that a change was coming.
  There is nothing in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, nor Amendments that says unions and corporation’s deserve special treatment. It does say that we the people shall be represented in Congress. We the people cannot be fully represented if the legislator’s owe debt’s of gratitude to special interest groups.
  There was a time when honest graft could be argued as not being all bad. Sadly our current crops of politician’ s cannot make that distinction.
  The other alternative is to take all politician’s and lawyer’s out and shoot them. Then tell the graduating senior’s that if they mess up like that, the same will happen to them. That seems a tad extreme.
  Better to call a Constitutional Convention with the narrow goal of reforming the campaign contributions and lobbyist access, plus eliminating the Electoral College, a body that serves no useful purpose and can only be used to circumvent the will of the majority of the voter’s.
  As it did in 2000. And look what that got us.

  Posted by farmer on Jul 4, 2007 at 12:05 PM

  Democrats are selling out the economic populism that got them elected in the first place

  No shit!  And that’s not all that is being sold out. 

  Democrats are selling out many principled positions they once held:

  * Supporting democracy in oppressed states. 

  * Defending the United States from socialist totalitarians and terrorists.

  * Supporting liberal values, including freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms.

  In place of the democratic ideals that made us strong and free, Democrats have adopted such dubious propositions as political correctness and diversity as their guiding principles.  Try defending yourself and your country against terrorists who practice human sacrifice and head-hunting by being politically correct.  Lots of luck.

  Posted by scorp on Jul 5, 2007 at 5:06 PM

  no shit the neo-cons sold us out with their so called principals.

  small government
  no nation building
  transparentcy in government
  balanced budget
  follow the laws of the constitution or what ever we feel like doing,shit channey doesn’t even know what branch of government he is in.
  conservatives with no conscience, we are making great strides in iraq,do not worry about wire tapping,fired judges,or committing treason for ousting a cia agent in time of war.
  Carl rove speech july 9 said we stopped the navy seal team in route to pakistan to get bin laden because it was illegal to go into a solverant country unless it was for saddam.
  Great principals and values that restored the integrity of the white house from the evil bill clinton.

  Posted by brian28 on Jul 10, 2007 at 3:14 PM

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