2008 Woodie Awards
Op-Ed: A solution for the real issue
Daryn Cambridge '03, Regional Field Coordinator, Democracy Matters Institute
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Opinions
The election is over and the American people have spoken, resulting in one of the biggest shifts in political power in recent history. Voters went to the polls motivated by many issues, the biggest of which was not Iraq, the economy or gay marriage, but corruption.
According to surveys conducted by the Associated Press and the television networks, "Three-fourths of voters said corruption and scandals were very or extremely important to them." As a result, the Democrats have vowed to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." But too much finger pointing directed at the lobbying industry won't result in change.
The Democrats are claiming to be the party that will bring civility and ethics back to Washington, but neither party can live up to such bold declarations when the very system that puts them in power relies on their ability to raise exorbitant amounts of private money from the special interests and big businesses these "unethical" lobbyists represent.
Running for political office is an expensive, privately-funded venture, and the price tags on campaigns continue to rise with each election cycle. According to www.opensecrets.org an estimated 2.6 to 2.8 billion dollars was spent in this mid-term election alone, making it the most expensive mid-term election in US history.
Therefore it should come as no surprise to those of us who are frustrated with corruption that the lobbyists and the big money special interest groups that many politicians represent, wield excessive influence over the political process and are in turn corroding the principles of our democracy.
In order to address this issue of corruption, we as voters must demand that our elected officials listen to our needs as their constituents to the interests of those who funded their campaigns. We must also provide an alternative to our current campaign system that, if not changed, will only continue to put our elected officials in compromised, corruptible situations. The real solution is full public financing of campaigns.
According to surveys conducted by the Associated Press and the television networks, "Three-fourths of voters said corruption and scandals were very or extremely important to them." As a result, the Democrats have vowed to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." But too much finger pointing directed at the lobbying industry won't result in change.
The Democrats are claiming to be the party that will bring civility and ethics back to Washington, but neither party can live up to such bold declarations when the very system that puts them in power relies on their ability to raise exorbitant amounts of private money from the special interests and big businesses these "unethical" lobbyists represent.
Running for political office is an expensive, privately-funded venture, and the price tags on campaigns continue to rise with each election cycle. According to www.opensecrets.org an estimated 2.6 to 2.8 billion dollars was spent in this mid-term election alone, making it the most expensive mid-term election in US history.
Therefore it should come as no surprise to those of us who are frustrated with corruption that the lobbyists and the big money special interest groups that many politicians represent, wield excessive influence over the political process and are in turn corroding the principles of our democracy.
In order to address this issue of corruption, we as voters must demand that our elected officials listen to our needs as their constituents to the interests of those who funded their campaigns. We must also provide an alternative to our current campaign system that, if not changed, will only continue to put our elected officials in compromised, corruptible situations. The real solution is full public financing of campaigns.
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