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UPDATE,
SUMMER 2001
The push for campaign finance
reform has now moved to the House of Representatives, after the Senate
passed its version (S27) of the "McCain-Feingold" bill on
April 2. While the Senate bill is certainly not a cure-all, its
provisions would limit to some degree the amounts of PAC money able to
be spent during political campaigns. Looming over this entire matter is
the question of constitutionality — many legal experts predict that
the current legislation will be declared unconstitutional when finally
challenged in court. Despite the shortcomings of McCain-Feingold, and
despite the constitutional question, lawmakers should be urged to move
forward on this front as at least one way to begin a clean-up of our
corrupt political fund raising morass.
There is no longer any doubt that the tidal wave of
money pouring into our political process from corporate sources and the
wealthy elite has totally corrupted our democratic institutions. The
evidence is all around us. George W. Bush is the hand-picked front man
for financial interests who raised over $300 million to see him elected.
President Clinton brazenly sold a pardon to fugitive financier and
unionbuster Marc Rich, in return for donations funneled to the Democrats
and Clinton himself. Lawmakers and candidates now spend more time
raising money to run for election and re-election than actually
performing their jobs as elected officials.
The problem is obvious; the solution is not. The most
well-known legislation that aims to control this disgraceful situation
is the "McCain-Feingold" bill, named for the two U.S. Senators
who have promoted it. While its intent is healthy, the final
consequences of its passage may not be. While the bill should be
credited with raising the profile of the campaign finance reform issue,
it unfortunately may end up further reducing the political abilities of
organized labor. One school of thought suggests that our system is
already so polluted that the "McCain-Feingold" bill would at
least begin to clean it up. As this bill begins to move through Congress
working people should be prepared to demand that lawmakers do whatever
is needed to restore financial integrity, public confidence and trust to
our political system.
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