"More big money can only leave less hope for voters."
9/26/15, "The Soaring Price of Political Access," NY Times Editorial Board (Sun., 9/27 print ed.)
"Politicians
busy soliciting ever-larger donations from eager millionaires epitomize
the truth of a 12-year-old Supreme Court ruling on contribution limits:
“Money, like water, will always find an outlet.”
This
year, the political money is flowing more like overpriced wine, with
the two national parties reported to be planning tenfold increases in
the rates V.I.P. donors will be charged to secure the right to attend
exclusive dinners and presidential convention forums with candidates and
party leaders.
This
means that top-tier Republican donors will pay $1.34 million per couple
for the privilege of being treated as party insiders, while the
Democratic Party will charge about $1.6 million, according to The Washington Post.
Four years ago the most an individual could give to a national party
was $30,800. This time, that top $1.34 million ticket for a couple in
the Republican National Committee’s Presidential Trust tier, reserved
for the “most elite R.N.C. investors,” promises “influence messaging and
strategy” opportunities at exclusive party dinners and retreats,
according to a description obtained by The Post.
More big money can only leave less hope for voters concerned that the
richest donors are buying ever more influence over politicians, with
favoritism and corruption an inevitable result. And the money
competition only intensifies. The Democrats, fearing they are being left
behind by the Republicans’ money raisers, are considering a far more
aggressive use of super PACs, in House and Senate campaigns too,
according to a recent report by Nicholas Confessore in The Times.
Top
Democratic election lawyers asked the Federal Election Commission this
month to approve dubious shortcuts around the law that Republican
candidates already have been taking. One example is the “testing the
waters” strategy that Jeb Bush used
to raise tens of millions of dollars for his supposedly “independent”
super PAC while pretending his candidacy was not a certainty.
The
Democrats’ request shows just how far gone the whole campaign finance
system is. The Republicans have rendered the election commission
completely dysfunctional by blocking regulatory decisions and refusing
to take action against improper practices. And now the Democrats are
trying to get official approval of the very practices that eviscerate
the law.
While
Democrats led by Hillary Rodham Clinton have called for broad reforms
of campaign fund-raising, Mrs. Clinton and party leaders say they will
emulate Republican tactics in going after big money if that’s what it
takes to compete. At what cost to democracy is the looming question for
voters."
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