This morning my wife and I spent an hour in my son Benjamin's class. He's in third grade. His teacher had thought it would be great for my wife and I to come in and talk about Election Day and the importance of voting. We were happy to do it.
We talked about all the signs they see on the side of the road, the commercials running on television, and what elections mean. We also had them throw out examples of things that they didn't think were political, and we told them how they were. (They offered things like, "This textbook isn't political!" and "Getting sick isn't political.") Of course, our son Benjamin, who has watched me working on passing Clean Elections in states, actually knows who Tom DeLay is (go figure), etc., tried to be the star of the show. We went from discussing all of the things that are impacted by the laws passed by people we elect, to going through the voter file for our small town to see if their parents were registered to vote. Their homework: Make sure their parents vote, and go with them, if possible.
I couldn't help but think, though, about what a disconnect there is between the classroom democracy taught to our kids and the real world democracy practiced by consultants, fundraisers, lobbyists, and power-seekers. Leaving, I also couldn't help but wonder if any of those kids in Benjamin's class would ever be turned on to politics enough to run for office someday. If so, they'd better make their next birthday party a fundraiser.
I'm only half joking. Who can run major office today? This election wil cost an estimated $2.6 billion. It costs between $1 and 2 million for a challenger to stand a chance. Most have to spend more. It's out of control, and now, out of reach for far too many qualified Americans who see public service as a calling rather an avenue to riches by cashing-in at the end of their time in office. If you spend any time in our public schools, you are immediately confronted with the need for qualified political leaders willing to invest in what's right (education) versus what's wrong (the war in Iraq). But our political system doesn't always pick the best leaders. It generally picks the best fundraisers though. How much overlap is there?
Yesterday, I wrote about Clean Elections-style public financing. Clean Elections laws in seven states and two cities allow good people to run for office without relying on wealthy donors. Candidates agree to a spending limit, agree to take little or no private money, and raise a large number of small qualifying contributions. After that, they receive a set amount of public money to run their campaigns, and receive matching "fair fight" funds to respond to attacks from independent expenditures or free-spending opponents.
Today, my organization, Public Campaign Action Fund, is publicizing a list of congressional candidates who will likely win their elections and enter the next Congress as supporters of this policy (as determined by their response to the Voters First Pledge, which is also supported by Common Cause, Public Citizen, and other prominent national organizations).
Included on this list are signatories who are in competitive races. We'll be updating the list periodically, and tracking these races closely next Tuesday.
There are other candidates who have made public financing a part of their message -- notably Gary Trauner in WY-AL (disclosure: our 527 is running this "Slap" ad there, which has changed the race) -- and are running in races which will determine whether this next Congress goes the distance on Clean Elections.
Look at this list. These are the candidates who are not willing to pull up the ladder of electoral opportunity after they climbed to the top. They know, in their gut, that the kids I taught this morning and the rest of us, for that matter, are short-changed by a pay-to-play system that is inherently inequal, sells us short, limits our leadership, and corrupts our Congress.
These are some the leaders we'll look to in January.
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