Where, in all this outrage, is talk of campaign finance reform?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

This has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time, starting with the string of lobbyist-related scandals (which I might add, were all tried and convicted, thus proving the system actually worked, but I digress.) Everyone screamed and hollered that there was/is too much money in politics, and looked at lobbyist reform as the answer. Frankly, that's exactly the wrong place - no one has ever changed a vote because a staffer got a hot dog and a beer. The junkets/trips was a worthy change, but the vast majority of lobbyists weren't doing that and that's a fairly small change, not a big one. Heck, the vast majority of lobbyist work for non-profit associations and don't do anything more than pound the pavement on Capital Hill for the very people that, in turn, rail against lobbyists because they don't realize they have many of them working directly for their interests.

Every single day here at DU, many bitch about corporate influence over our government and cries that they bribe their way to billions. And that continues today, of course, in light of the AIG bonus brouhaha. Particularly the part about the missing provision that would have prohibited bonuses - everyone wants to know how it disappeared but no one seems to talk about preventing those clauses from disappearing in the future.

So where is the push for severe campaign finance reform?

Corporations and corporate lobbyists only truly have disproportionate influence over our elected officials because they donate heavily to their campaigns. And it's not as though the elected officials are taking vacations with that money - they're using it because it's typically the only way they can fund their campaign to get re-elected. Time after time, election after election - if you can outspend your opponent, it has been proven that there is a very strong probability that you will win the election.

For the record, because someone will bring it up - as far as the outright, true-to-the-word bribes go? They're already illegal - there's not much more you can do there, except push for better investigation and prosecution. There's no such thing as making bribery of public officials super-double-illegal, and those that already flout the existing law would likely do the same under any other law, too.

Why, exactly, aren't we banging down doors to get an actual, meaningful reform passed? Are we anathema to fully federally funded elections? Why has this become the forgotten issue, especially in light of everything that's happened with the deregulatory disaster?

[msongs]

1. "new democrats" are bringing in all their revolving door pseudo lobbyist friends - reform is DOA nt

[av8rdave]

2. Unfortunately, campaign finance reform is now nearly impossible to enact

Ever since the courts (can't remember which one) ruled that money equals free speech.

If place restrictions on lobbyists money, you are (according to the courts) restricting their first amendment rights.

Unbelievable, I know.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. I believe there could be other solutions and SCOTUS arguments, not yet tried.

For one, we could try to amend the Constitution to specifically handle this issue. For another, we could place further restrictions on when, how much, and what the donations could be used for to mitigate the influence.

[av8rdave]

4. I think that's the only real avenue that has any promise

Either that or somehow get a case in place to challenge the money/free speech ruling.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Bread and Circus]

6. All this "outrage" is fake and a distraction so we don't talk about important things.

That so many on DU and HuffPo are falling for it gives me some sense of the intelligence levels at the respective sites.

[sampsonblk]

8. Everyone is dumb except you? (nt)

[Bread and Circus]

9. Intelligence is on a bell shaped curve...you know that. But it is dumb

to get all in a twitter about AIG. It's a distraction.