Campaign Finance:how to Save America

I love how Red neck Righties love to argue about how unfair campaign finance reform would be for freedom of speech. They parrot people like Hannity, Prager and Limbaugh, as though they were serfs to Right wing Feudal lords. On the Left we understand that cutting cash out of Washington Politics is at the heart of many of the fundamental problems in this country. I'm sure alot of working class Righties, who are all too easily swayed by the Limbaughs and such, would agree that buying a candidate's votes is not freedom of speech but bribery and corruption!

It would be freedom of speech if indeed the forum in which all people in the nation had an equal voice. Lobbyists instead drown out the voice of individual citizens and communities in favor, not of reason or logic or persuasion but of cash and favors for large corporations or foreign interests. And often those interests are not in the best interest of the nation. Indeed, if the citizenry truly had a voice there would be diversity in radio, print and television media, which is now being sucked up into fewer and fewer media conglomerates. There would be a comprehensive plan to deal with immigration problems. and for Lefties, like me, Nancy Pelosi would not have been able to take impeachment off the table.

The fact is, we don't pay them. Oh, what's that, their paltry congressional salaries? that's cute. These people are millionaires, they are cronies who take menial government jobs because they can make laws.

Here's the deal, we whine and moan about deficits and budgets during elections. The people who claim they know how to balance budgets and reduce deficits are people who squander vast fortunes, virtually unlimited sums of money to get elected. Where, in that process to they have to demonstrate financial prudence, or any adherence to budgets? they spend like thieves to get into office, and spend like fools once they're in-Demicrumbs and Republicrooks!

This country is too weak, the Righties Lemmings to the cult of their leaders that they will not join with those on the Left-those of us also not Lemmings to an ideology-to cut the cancer of corruption from this country. They will not stand in the face of the hurricane protestations of the lobbyists, lawyers , paid for pundits and even more paid for politicians.

The solution is so simple it's almost maddening. I propose a constitutional amendment that no citizen, corporation or foreign power may contribute to a candidate, elected politician, their family or constituency. All elections would be paid for from the general fund. By constitutional amendment a federal election office would be mandated to fund elections to candidates put up not just by parties, but also chosen by referendum by the citizenry. That box on the income tax form that asks if you would like to contribute to presidential campaigns would no longer be a choice. It would simply say two dollars from your return goes directly to the federal election office. The money would go straight to that fund, without going anywhere near the greedy fingers of congress. Obama, or Hillary, Guiliani, McCain, or whoever would get X amount of Dollars-a budget-they would have to adhere to. If they spent more they would, like the rest of us when we blow our monthly or weekly budget, be forced to pay it all back.