This is my first diary, so here goes (clears throat). A number of vitally important issues in this election are demanding, and receiving, appropriate attention. My personal list includes global warming, the war in Iraq, the health care crisis, and the economy. But there is one issue I have heard virtually nothing about in this election cycle, and our failure to resolve it underlies so many of our other problems: campaign finance reform. The voices and concerns of the vast majority of us are simply not getting represented in our current system, because they are being drowned out by the monetarily-enhanced voices of those who are able to make large campaign contributions. Waste and fraud in Iraq? Halliburton. Unregulated violence by private mercenaries stirring up hatred against us in Iraq? Blackwater. Continued reliance on fossil fuels instead of a serious commitment to renewable ones, resulting in environmental degradation and vulnerability to the vicissitudes of Middle Eastern politics? The fossil fuels industry. A health care delivery system that results in thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold suffering each year? The health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
There are two main obstacles to meaningful reform. The first is our politicians. By definition the system has worked for those who currently hold office, so there is no strong impetus from those in government to change the system, although there are a few noble exceptions. The second obstacle is the First Amendment, which the Supreme Court has held protects, to at least some extent, the right to make campaign contributions. A number of creative proposals have been suggested to get around the constitutional constraints. They should be seriously considered.
But it's not going to happen unless we demand it. When we all realize how fundamental this issue is--how much it is intertwined with so many of the pervasive problems we face--I hope we'll start making a very loud noise about it. Cynics say that money, like water, will always find a way in. I'm more optimistic--I think we can fix this. And I think politicians would actually appreciate a solution which would free them from the constant chore of fund-raising, if they could be convinced it wouldn't amount to their unilateral disarmament. So let's do it.