Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., Government by the People Act,

Below, in part two of my recent interview with Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., about his Government by the People Act, Sarbanes describes how he markets this idea, why it could not just change campaign financing but plausibly diminish the impact of big-money lobbying, and how it would keep incumbents like himself on their toes.

For specifics about his bill, go here. For part one of the interview, in which Sarbanes explains the rationale for his bill, how it would change politicians’ behavior and how similar systems are already having an impact on a state and local level, is here.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/08/part-rep-john-sarbanes-government-people-act/

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/09/rep-john-sarbanes-plan-de-suck-u-s-government-part-ii/

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Whenever’s there’s any discussion of public financing of elections, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell likes to call it “welfare for politicians.” How much thought have you put into marketing this?

SARBANES: A lot.

I say to the public: “Somebody’s going to own your government. It’s not going to just sit there unattended. It’s either going to be owned by special interests and big money, in which case when it comes to making policy that’s who we’ll work for. Or it’s going to be owned by you. And in America, if you want to own something, you’ve got to pay for it.”

The good news is, it’s a pretty modest investment, especially given the huge return on investment you get in the form of good public policy. Let’s take one example: if the pharmaceutical industry didn’t have the influence that comes from funding campaigns, when we were putting the Affordable Care Act together, maybe we would have been able to get a provision in there to negotiate on behalf of 30 to 40 million Medicare beneficiaries to get better pricing [on prescription drugs]. That would have meant billions of dollars in savings for our seniors around the country. So a modest investment in a public financing system would produce an amazing return.

People say, “I already can’t stand these politicians, why would I want to underwrite your campaign?”

I say, “Look, I know you don’t like politicians, but you’re paying our salary. Would you prefer that my salary be paid for by Halliburton or Goldman Sachs?” The answer would be no,



https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/10/interview-part-ii-rep-john-sarbanes-plan-de-suck-u-s-government/