Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Campaign Finance Reform: Really?

If everything I'm reading so far on a new campaign finance reform bill is accurate, I'm going to support it, even if Chuck Shumer supports it also. One of the parts I like about it is requiring full (or at least more) disclosure.

Seems some folks don't like it, because it treats all organizations or groups equally. According to Investor's Business Daily:
But Disclose Act sponsors, like Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., indicated they won't back down.

"Some of our allies are not happy," Schumer said at the bill's unveiling last week. "We've told our friends in the unions that they should be treated the same as corporations, no more, no less."

The legislation is a response the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC ruling, which tossed prior restrictions on campaign spending by corporations, arguing they ran afoul of the First Amendment.

Liberal groups reacted with horror, arguing that the decision would let corporations flood elections with money. President Obama slammed the ruling in his State of the Union address while several justices sat nearby. It was an unprecedented White House rebuke of the court.
We need some serious finance reform here. Why don't we take special interests out all together? Use federal funding ONLY to run. Would it not level the playing field?

1 comment:

Fam Guy said...

Why not? Cuz it would ruin politics as we know it. Special interests have always been able to buy politicians/votes. I can't imagine those in charge changing the rules that have been SO beneficial to them. Nice thought, though.