Political contribution reform and all of its due glory has its ups and downs, but like other things, when manipulated it will become exactly what it is seemlingly posed against — partisan warfare. Enter the Democratic Congressional and Senatorial Campaign Commities.
In what has exploded throughout the political world, a June fundraiser for these committees turned into a give and take offer for the president — to speak at the event in exchange for a ban on PAC and Lobbyist donations — for one day. Pundits, the partisan media, politicians and their constituents — Progressive, Democratic and Republican — have become ignited in anger. But what this essentially signals is a long future of fake reform, lobbyist domination and in the broader sense, a tightened congressional and presidential partisanship.
What is exceedingly concerning to me here is not the offer of the DSCC and DCCC, but of the acceptance of the president and his staff. DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse explained that:
“The president instituted these rules because he believes it’s important to fulfilling his pledge to change the way business is done in Washington. He thinks it’s important whenever he’s involved that those rules and restrictions are abided by.”
But what is a change in Washington when that change only occurs for 24 hours? What do the next 364 days account for? President Obama ran as a candidate centered on reform and the changing of policy so Washington’s politics would not be controlled by lobbyists — and this fundraiser completely disproves what he stood for his entire time in the public view.
Mr. Obama knows with great clarity that these offers will rise above the surface many times in his years as Commander in Chief — and it is his responsibility to understand that policy PR stunts will not pass in this time of political and economic uncertainity.
President Obama is correct — a leader of any kind against misuse of contributions does not accept to speak at a fundraiser that allows PAC and Lobbyist donations. The Democratic Congressional and Senatorial Campaign Commities may have “fully transparent” fundraising, as Jennifer Crider of the DCCC claims, but its donations put its congressmen and women under notorious political pressure that results in decisions not from his/her constituentcy, and not of his/her political beliefs, but of the wishes of lobby and Political Action Committies.
So a president, as the 2008 Presidental Elections have made clear, does not support such a fundraiser — not for a day, not for a week, but not at all. This must be made blatantly clear to President Obama.