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Politic$ as Usual
06 Feb 2012 by John Fagan in Campaign Finance and Politics, Fordham University School of Law, Law School Marketing / 9 Comments
Change is the inevitable pledge of virtually every presidential candidate – unless of course you’re the incumbent. And yet without fail, the excitement of every election cycle brings with it the inescapable reminder that with these often unattainable, or flat-out ludicrous, promises, comes disappointment. The biggest of these unavoidable letdowns is that, despite politicians’ lip-service to being the candidate of “change” and irreproachable character, they all partake in the embarrassing practice of exploiting the massive loophole that purports to be campaign finance – a.k.a. soft money.
The quick definition of soft money is unregulated monetary contributions – which makes soft money so appealing. No pesky contribution limits, no reporting to federal agencies, no having to be tied to what message this soft money attempts to peddle.
This country has attempted campaign finance reform before. But these attempts always end up half-baked, under-supported and ultimately virtually ineffectual. The so-called McCain-Feingold act was congress’ best attempt to plug the hole allowing the never-ending stream of soft money into political campaigns. Instead of successfully corking the bottle and stopping the flow, all it did was force pressure to build up until the system began to burst at the seams. What we’re experiencing now is that explosion.
I’m referring to the McCain-Feingold’s attempt to address the tiny bother that is “issue advocacy” ads – often taking the form of attack ads. While this regulation managed to stay in effect for almost a decade, two years ago,
the great and powerful Ozthe Supreme Court decided, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, thatthey really enjoyed smear campaignsthe First Amendment prohibits government from placing limits on independent spending for political purposes by corporations or unions. This makes total sense because handing extremely rich and expansively powerful yet oddly faceless corporations a megaphone through which it can spew unchecked, misleading and dangerous propaganda is exactly what the framers intended when they were writing the constitution. Yeah, they also totally just forgot to explicitly throw in that money equals speech and corporations are people. (I’ve always felt rich people should speak more than anyone else, anyway.)This is all a rather roundabout way of saying that money in politics is bad! If you don’t believe me, just wait until your State’s Republican primary, and the accompanying circus, rolls into town (if it makes it that far) and begins bombarding you with ad blitzes filled with ominous voices, out of context quotes, spurious statistics and black and white b-roll that seems like it was taken off a used video cassette. Then you can see first hand what unchecked money in politics can do to skew the truth and, likely, the election.
About the Author: John Fagan
9 Comments
Maura
no matter what politicians say, it doesn’t amount to a row of pins! When they take office, all the things they promised while campaigning is thrown into the circular wastebasket!
03 Feb 2012 10:02 pm (@Twitter)
Barbara Frances Delo
I agree that the amount of money spent – and the degree to which campaigns distort the truth – in American Politics today -is.disgusting – and it threatens the very core of our democracy – but the answer cannot be to curtail one of the most fundamental and critical rights we have -.free speech. – that would surely destroy the very core of our nation =.the answer must come from the American people. – from campaigns that operate with and ask for responsiblity and honesty from their supporters -.and from the American people who no longer make this type of advertizing profitable. It’s easy to do – don’t vote for sleezy politicians who clearly relish dirty politics—
04 Feb 2012 06:02 am (@Twitter)
MargaretAnn Mancini
What concerns me is that I do agree with you and feel there is no easy fix nor is anyone really trying.
mm
06 Feb 2012 04:02 pm (@Twitter)
rafael balbi
John,
Great post. All in all I do agree with you. What we must be most fearful of as a nation that was founded on the cornerstones of freedom and righteousness, is corporatism. Not liberalism, not capitalism but corporatism. In many ways its the exact opposite of what communism is. Corporatism and these kindergarten politics will ruin this nation. Ruin. Politics has become too much about politicians and not enough about the overall vitality and well being of the country. I do not know how Gingrich, Romney, and Santorum will be able to shack hands after this is all and done in the name of the GOP. We can not talk about rebuilding America while our running candidates tear eachother apart like this.
-RB
09 Feb 2012 12:02 am (@rafaelbalbijr)
Pierce Brennan
Very well-written and eminently sensible. Excellent presentation of material.
09 Feb 2012 11:02 am (@syngeomuse)
John Gaeta
Brilliantly done John! Really eye opening!
12 Feb 2012 10:02 pm (@@john_gaeta)
Ted Compton
Hey John,
Looks like some Justices are suggesting they revisit their previously awesome ruling treating non-voting corporations like citizens.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-justices-suggest-citizens-united-ruling-should-be-reconsidered-in-montana-case/2012/02/17/gIQAJ07kKR_story.html?hpid=z2&tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
19 Feb 2012 08:02 am (@TCompton)
Thanos
Thank you for the great imrtfnaoion in your article. I feel I will come away a little wiser from the content you’ve written here. I am saving this article to my favorites for further study.
23 Feb 2012 03:02 am (@Twitter)
Darrin
Well said. While I don’t possess your depth of knowledge on the subject, I do believe the man with the most support (i.e. CASH) will go the furthest. While I have always found the subject of politics interesting, I also find many aspects quite disgusting. It’s all about who you know, who you have done favors for, who owes you and how much cash you can raise. People with power will always rule. We (as a nation) are powerless. The old saying, “Theirs strength in numbers” is now a false one. I guess it’s not so bad if you’re at the top of the food chain.
Good luck to you John. In such chaotic and uncertain times, you STILL have a very bright future:)
13 Mar 2012 08:03 am (@Twitter)
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