Legal Corruption
Democrats have rightfully complained about the "culture of corruption" led by Republicans.
Now, the very blue state of California, Democrats have a chance to do something about it.
The nurses' union and some consumer advocates have qualified a ballot measure that would bring public financing to state elections. This an opportunity for Democrats to put their mouth where their money has been. As I write in my latest column, don't count on it.
June 29th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
I’m in favor of this but does anyone know if the recent SCOTUS ruling invalidaing the Vermont law would affect this? I’ve got to believe that the initiative was written before the decision.
June 29th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
This was a fantastic column Marc. I was, shall we say, a bit more than annoyed with the Gale Kaufman thing. I suppose it’s not surprising, but it’s irritating. FWIW, I’m going to be supporting Clean Money as it presents an opportunity for California to finally make public policy with logic, not with lobbyist cash.
Now if we could just get Buckley overruled!
June 29th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
“Campaign finance reform” is a crock. McCain-Feingold restricted “soft money.” Now we’ve got 527s and George Soros. Gimme a break!
Public financing is a subsidy for political consultants and the networks, and even further institutionalizes two-party dominance.
Buckley should be overruled, but not the way SFB things. Barring expenditures to express one’s views is a restriction on free speech, period. Allowing millionaires to spend their own money but restricting what others may contribute is bizarre. Post-
Buckley jurisprudence is an unprincipled mess.
Not to worry. It won’t pass. The people are anti-expenditure these days, and expenditures for politicians’ campaign funds aren’t high on most people’s priorities.
June 29th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
I would prefer to see all political ads banned from the airwaves banned. I’d rather not see “187 on Angelides” spray painted on our public property. It’s a quality-of-life crime…
Barring that, we could just make bribery illegal again.
June 29th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
The next time someone argues that money is free speech maybe someone should hire Léon to pay them a visit. Don’t worry, it’ll all be completely constitutional– you’ll be exercising your 1st amendment rights and Léon will be exercising his 2nd amendment rights. Ain’t America grand!
June 30th, 2006 at 10:19 am
richard:
The SCOTUS decision will likely have no impact on this. the court ruled on Vermont’s particular contribution limits, not contribution limits generally (which the court has upheld in the past), and the case did not relate to public financing in any way.
SFBrianCL: You’ve got to wonder who hired Kaufman. It wasn’t the Chamber of Commerce. Could it be a large labor union that wields influence under the current system?
Grumpy Old Man: Cheer up. This passed in Arizona, a state that’s a deep shade of red. It should pass here as well. Remember, this is no experiment. It’s been battle-tested in a few states already. Also, the fact that the nurses collected the qualifying signatures in about five weeks says something about Californians’ eagerness to clean things up.
June 30th, 2006 at 11:45 am
I know it is esoteric but to those who don’t want politicians to get taxpayer’s money for their campaigns I have one question: Ever wonder why there is no National Health Insurance? Why the Prescription Drug Bill prohibits Medicare from bargaining over the cost of thedrugs? Or why media consolidation is so pervasive?Follow the money!
Am I the only one here who remembers what happened to the tobacco bill that came out of the Senate after the global consent decree? I remeber Newt Gingerich, then speaker, blasting the industry for its practices and saying their time was up. Then a Tobacco Company CEO gave a speech at the National Press Club – saw it on CSPAN – denouncing the bill as a tax and onoerous governmental legislation (particularly the part that would give the FDA the authority to regulate Nicotene content) as an attack on Free WEnterprise. Within days the GOP was parroting the same line and the bill was dead. And who was getting the bulk of Big Tobacco’s campaign largese? Guess! There has been no better example of the old expression that “money talks and bullshit walks.” In this all over public policy.
June 30th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Just asking, but does Marc ever respond to responders?
June 30th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Once again my (apparently) weekly breaking of silence.
There’s one major solution for much of this: broadcasters should be required to give a certain of free airtime to candidates.
When Herbert Hoover was Secretary of Commerce he declared that the airwaves belong to the public and the Communications Act of 1934 requires that broadcasters must broadcast in the public interest.
They received their digital spectrum for free. They owe the public – big time.
June 30th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
That should say certain amount.
July 1st, 2006 at 3:07 pm
Randy Paul is 100% right. But given the broadcaster’s lobby (and the fact that campaign plugs are a huge profit center) I won’t hold my breath.
July 1st, 2006 at 5:39 pm
The lobby is huge (you should see the National Assocation of Broadcasters Convention – I’ve been several times in a previous job) and companies like Clear Channel have Bush and much of the RNC in their pocket.
July 1st, 2006 at 8:30 pm
“Clean money” is just another gimmick. It will not change the fundamentals of politics, but rather create a system that has tremendous incentives for opting out instead of accepting public financing.
Like it or not, the First Amendment allows one to express oneself via his/her pocketbook. Quixotic public financing schemes won’t change this Constitutional reality. I doubt this proposal will pass since it involves a tax increase, but if it does, it will be DOA.
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:42 pm
“Like it or not, the First Amendment allows one to express oneself via his/her pocketbook.”
If bribery is protected speech then so is hiring a hit man. That knock at your door? That’ll be Léon.
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June 29th, 2007 at 5:27 am
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