Election Reform

All of the 2016 Presidential Election talk reminds me once again that our British friends have it right by restricting electioneering to a few weeks before the General. Let's face it the 2016 campaign began immediately after the 2012 election was over. We have been bombarded with it for over a year. To hear some talking heads Hillary Clinton should have announced her candidacy the day she stepped down as Secretary of State.

We have created a system that requires candidates to raise huge sums of money. Where do you think that money comes from? A lot of small donations from the general public can add up to significant sums but  nothing compared to what gets dumped in by major special interests and extremely wealthy individuals. This has boomed since the Citizens United case was decided, not our Supreme Court's finest hour. We are subjected to ads financed by forces we know nothing about and they can easily smear a candidate with enough repetition.

True election reform has three major components. Restructuring of campaign finance, opening up ballot access to break the stranglehold of the two major parties and shortening the electioneering period for general elections. Candidates in the two major parties with minimal resources would also be helped with these initiatives.

You will note I did not say term limits for members of Congress. There appears to be chatter about this yet again, it will probably find it's way into upcoming debates, don't allow yourself to be deceived. We have term limits, they're called elections. The late Henry Hyde, Congressman from Illinois, famously stood in the well of the House back in the nineties when this was a hot button issue and said "I will not participate in the dumbing down of the Constitution." Hyde was right and stated it with simple eloquence. Term limits will not fix the problems in our system. It will in fact worsen them because it will further strengthen the power of the lobbyists and Congressional staff. While there are certainly those do nothing members that stay far too long in office, we do not want to lose hard workers who strive to improve our nation and who learn to use their seniority for good.