Joe Biden has a plan to reform campaign financing and get big money out of politics. You can read about it at this link
But anyone can come up with a plan. Will Biden actually do anything?
The evidence suggests that he will. The has been a core issue for Biden since his first days in government
In an essay about his early days From the Washingtonian:
The Senator shows a healthy respect for money: “Politics is a damn expensive business. I had one hell of a time trying to raise money as a candidate. I had to put a second mortgage on our house to get that campaign started, and I ended up spending over $300,000 to get elected. I believe that public financing of federal election campaigns is the only thing that will insure good candidates and save the two-party system. It is the most degrading thing in the world to go out with your hat in your hand and beg for money, but that’s what you have to do if you haven’t got your own resources.”
He feels the indignity is compounded by the temptation to sell out to big business or big labor for financial help, and says it’s almost impossible for a candidate to remain true to his conscience in this situation. He admits that more than once he was tempted to compromise to get campaign money. “I probably would have if it hadn’t been for the ramrod character of my Scotch Presbyterian wife,” he says. “I am not a rich man. And my family does not have money. If I sold every thing I own, including my house and cars, I could probably’ scratch up $200,000, but that’s nothing compared to most of the guys in the Senate.”
The Intercept follows this up and looks at what Biden actually pushed in his 36 years int the senate→ On campaign finance reform, the evidence suggests the vice president means what he’s been saying for 41 years.
This was not simply lip service on Biden’s part. He went on to spend a great deal of time and energy during his 36 years in the Senate pushing various forms of campaign finance reform, though largely without success. (He also remains comparatively impoverished for a big-time U.S. politician, with a recent estimated net worth of $543,000.)
Biden began by voting for 1974’s post-Watergate campaign finance reforms, which established public funding for presidential campaigns and limited contributions to and expenditures by all candidates for federal office. In 1977, he introduced legislation to prohibit a practice so brazenly, blatantly corrupt — letting politicians who lost or retired simply pocket any leftover campaign money — that it’s hard to believe that it was ever legal….The last remaining loopholes in this area were finally closed in 1989 with the Ethics Reform Act.)
Most notably, in the early 1990s Biden worked with John Kerry and Bill Bradley, then senators from Massachusetts and New Jersey, respectively, to create a system of public funding for congressional elections similar to the one for presidential candidates. Biden was also one of four Senate co-sponsors of the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act in 1997.
CNN points out that he continues to argue for it
In 2016, Biden spelled out why he felt so strongly about public financing when he said, "If you want to change overnight, instantaneously, the electoral process in America and the way we handle issues, have public financing. I guarantee you it would change overnight."
An April 16 statement by End Citizens United endorsing Biden
stated his position on H.R. 1 as provided to the group, "A first priority of a Biden administration, will be to lead on a comprehensive set of reforms like those reflected in the For the People Act (H.R. 1) to end special interest control of Washington and protect the voice and vote of every American."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has vowed H.R. 1 will be
a top priority for the House in the 2021 Congress -- as it was
in the current one, where it was the first order of business. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)also has said it would be
a top priority if Democrats win control of the Senate.
Thus, the stage is set in 2021 to enact the landmark democracy reforms in H.R. 1 if current polling that
puts Biden ahead of Trump
The San Francisco Chronicle agrees with a headline: A Biden presidency should finally produce campaign finance reform
Joe Biden will be a great president
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This is Day 62 in my series 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden
Did you miss any of the 100 days? Here are links for all of them:
Day 1: Biden’s Tax Plan
Day 2: Biden and Gay Marriage
Day 3: Biden’s FDR Sized presidency
Day 4: Biden is a mensch
Day 5: Biden has a Covid-19 plan
Day 6: Biden ran the Obama economic recovery
Day 7: Biden’s Housing Plan
Day 8: Biden knows love and commitment
Day 9: Biden knows exactly who Republicans are
Day 10: Biden understands America
Day 11: Biden will bring smart, progressive policies to help Americans
Day 12: Biden has felt pain and found empathy
Day 13: Biden and the Violence Against Women Act
Day 14: Biden was endorsed by John Lewis
Day 15: Biden will protect teacher’s unions
Day 16: Biden will be a steady hand in the White House
Day 17: Biden cares about people in the dawn and twilight of life
Day 18 Biden has a great economic plan
Day 19: Biden would yank the Keystone XL Pipeline
Day 20: Biden has plans to help Americans with disabilities
Day 21: Biden sponsored the very first climate bill when in the senate
Day 22: Biden is a person of great character
Day 23: Biden has a great plan for saving the planet
Day 24: Biden has a great healthcare plan
Day 25: Biden will increase housing equality
Day 26: Biden loves dogs
Day 27: Biden has foreign policy swag
Day 28: Biden will work to increase the minimum wage to $15
Day 29: Biden will stand against gun violence
Day 30: Biden will protect, empower, and expand unions
Day 31: Biden knows commitment, love, and patience
Day 32: Biden is a person of faith
Day 33: Biden will listen to experts
Day 34: Biden will protect and expand social security
Day 35: Biden picked Kamala Harris
Day 36: Biden has an expansive plan to empower Latinos
Day 37: Biden will address income inequality in his economic agenda
Day 38: Biden will protect at risk communities from climate change
Day 39: Biden has great pro-worker plans for his presidency
Day 40: Biden was for civil rights before civil rights were cool
Day 41: Biden has a childcare plan to help parents and children
Day 42: Biden will reboot our foreign policy
Day 43: Biden is a genuinely kind man
Day 44: Biden takes the steps to help people
Day 45: Biden protected us from a SC justice Bork
Day 46: Biden is not afraid to take the side of good over evil
Day 47: Biden hates bullies
Day 48: Biden has a plan to protect veterans and their families
Day 49: Biden refuses to define others by their biggest mistakes
Day 50: Biden has a great infrastructure plan
Day 51: Biden will keep ALL Americans safe
Day 52: Biden will bring us first lady Jill Biden
Day 53: Biden’s age and experience gives him the perspective needed to handle the ups and downs of the White House
Day 54: Biden showed empathy, humility, and wisdom in Kenosha
Day 55: Biden supports the women and men who protect our country.
Day 56: Biden values family
Day 57: Biden’s No Malarkey Attitude will be great for foreign policy
Day 58: Biden knows how to get votes when we need them to pass important legislation. He did it as a Senator and as VP and he will do it as President.
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