Banning $1,000 for all the Spam you Can Eat

After listing the current excesses, which keep legislators fundraising rather than legislating, Ruth Marcus offers her perspective on the prospects for reforming campaign finance in August 2nd's Washington Post. It is bleak indeed, as neither option she examines is likely to pass in the near or distant future.

There is another way, although it involves the electorate getting sick of both parties. To truly effectuate reform and make the other parties go along, a third party, such as this one, needs to gain significant strength using a system which is not corrupting. We have two suggestions. The first is to channel all contributions through party coffers - in essence making all PACs leadership PACs, so that all contributions are essentially made to a blind trust. Competing interests will thus cancel each other out. The other is to distribute primary funds automatically. This is done by holding a caucus after all petitions are in where the party faithful show up on behalf of their preferred candidate. Each candidate gathering a minimum threshold of supporters is funded equally with no incumbancy advantages (which we don't have to worry about since we have no incumbants). Candidates who are not funded withdraw from the race. This makes for both news worthy contests and gives the impression of a clean election, thus attracting new voters.

This is not are only calling card, as readers will know. It is a big one, however. For more information, go to http://www.geocities.com/iowaequity/elections.html.