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“Is it any surprise that Congress has been unable to shape a sound national energy policy based on scientific evidence and the needs of all our people, not just the moneyed interests?”
- Gus SpethCo-Founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council
ACR Advisory Board Member
Republicans losing their way on campaign finance reform
Friday, February 5th, 2010
By Warren Rudman
When I arrived in the U.S. Senate 30 years ago, I was a proud member of a Republican Party known for championing moderation in Congress, restraint in the courts and good-government reform.
In fact, the Republican tradition of campaign finance reform in which I stand dates to the trust-buster, Theodore Roosevelt. In his 1905 message to Congress, President Roosevelt proposed that “contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law.” His logic was straightforward enough: “If [legislators] are extorted by any kind of pressure or promise, express or implied, direct or indirect, in the way of favor or immunity, then the giving or receiving becomes not only improper but criminal.”
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It’s time to return to our roots and take up Teddy Roosevelt’s challenge from over a century ago by enacting the only real and lasting solution I know: citizen-funded elections. Under the proposed Fair Elections Now Act, sponsored by more than 130 members of Congress, money from special interests would be replaced by small donations from constituents and matching federal funds. Matching funds, raised through a fee on large-scale government contracts, would go to serious, hardworking candidates who demonstrate a broad base of public support and who say no to large donations.
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