A few words from a "naive cheerleader"

Hooray for Alan Grayson, a man with guts. Here's a freshman congressperson who's been speaking the truth. Yay. Finally. He's what we've been waiting for in Congress. Even as I celebrate this wonderful man, it gives me pause. Why don't all Democrats do this? I know, I know. They're bought-and-paid-for cowards, you'll say. But, again, why? The obvious answer is that their only true focus is the next election. They want to get reelected, so they don't want to piss anyone off. But in reality, the only ones they're afraid of pissing off are the sponsors who finance their campaigns with big money and big influence. Many sure as hell don't care about their constituents, the ones who believed in them enough to campaign for them, send their hard-earned $25 and $50 and $100 contributions, the ones who actually cast the votes. With a few exceptions like Alan Grayson and Al Franken (both freshmen, so we'll have to wait and see if they remain exceptions), once congresspeople are in office, we are abandoned. We need to make them afraid of pissing us off.

The ultimate solution is campaign finance reform and reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. But until that happens, there's more that we can do. First, we must continue to pay attention. Second, we must continue to write, email, and call, whether supportive or critical. Both are important. Talk to your friends, neighbors and families. If they agree with your opinion but are too lazy or shy to do the calling or writing, with their permission, write or call for them. Third, give tons of attention to those like Grayson. Support, support, support the audacious - the courageous. Fourth, boycott biased 'news' sources - right wing newspapers, commentators like Dobbs and, of course, Faux - and their advertisers, and let them know what you're doing.

I know that I'm probably preaching to the choir, that most of us are already doing these things, but some of us have become fatalists or worn out and disheartened, myself included. Nonetheless, to accomplish what we hope, we must keep up the fight. No one else will do it for us. It's how we elected our President, as imperfect as you might think he is. It's how we will elect more like Grayson and Franken - by not giving up. Who knows, it might even encourage some of the veteran officeholders to follow their example.
Okay, now you can mock me. Go for it.

Yes, money is the root of all evil in our political system, but it's also the reason we send Congresscritters to DC. Many send them to watch after our tax dollars and in most cases to "bring home the bacon"...to do this it requires cutting deals and voting in what one believes is in the best interests of his/her constituents. In a large nation with so many different interests and needs, it's inevitable there are conflicts and if we're to have a true representative democracy differences of opinion and coalition building are a vital part of a thriving system. As we saw during the booosh regime, lock-step one party rule can lead to disastrous results.

Sadly, your dream of campaign finance reform is farther away from ever happening as the Supreme Court is set to equate campaign contributions with free speech. And there goes your "fairness doctrine" hopes as well. But I see the problem as more systemic.

We now live in a non-stop campaign cycle...no sooner is the last election counted then the next one is up and going. Next year most Congresscritters will need to raise at least $1 mil and Senate candidate upwards of $10 mil to feed the campaign machine beast. There are consultants and advisors and staffers...an industry unto itself who are in constant campaign mode and need to be paid as well as the high costs of television advertising time. This week I'm already getting bombarded by commercials for a governor's race where the primary is still 6 months away and the general is over a year...millions are already flying out the door.

My suggestion has been to use the British model...have time limits on the lengths of elections, and this would also include the windows for fundraising. Many state and local laws already do this as well. For example, you have a set date for all candidates to file...no more "exploratory committees" or "pre-campaign" funds. No campaign staff can be given money nor any advertising run until the papers for candidacy are filed. Then have a 60 day window for taking campaign donations and set up organizations, another 60 days prior to the primary for active campaigning...then one more 90 day window for the general election. We could condense the entire election cycle into less than 9 months (like they used to be)...driving down costs of these campaigns and forcing the congresscritters to spend more time on legislating and less time dialing for dollars.

Regarding Cong. Greyson...he has a luxuary many other candidates don't. He's wealthy and self-funded most of his campaign. He'll probably do it again next year. Most candidates don't have that luxuary thus they're more suseptible to lobbyists and other high rollers...until we cut down the need for money, the power of the coporates will remain strong over the body politic.

but we are still many, and still stronger.