on account

There has been a disturbing trend in recent elections. Candidates are spending large sums of their own money on campaigns. The amount of money one can donate to a campaign is limited by law. Unless it is your own campaign and then you are only limited by your bank account, personal portfolio or what you have stuffed in the mattress. If it was just a matter of wealthy people spending small, or large, fortunes to buy public office I would not be so concerned. But the real situation is a bit more complicated and a lot more insidious.

In many cases these men and woman do not literally "spend" the money used in their campaign. They form a campaign committee and then loan money to the committee. If they lose the election the committee folds like the perverse deck of cards and the candidate is out the money. His loss. But if he or she wins the committee continues to take donations in order to pay off its debts.

Persons of privilege finance their own campaigns and contributors then give to the winners! Its like going to the track and placing your bet when the race is over. The two thousand dollar a plate players can back a winner every time. This makes it hard for a citizen who is not sitting on humongous piles of filthy lucre to come out on top in the election lottery. It was hard for working class penises to win back in the day when, if you told a wild enough lie or made the right deal, you could accept huge gifts from those who were gullible or slithy. But you didn't have to be rich, you just needed rich friends. Today having personal means is a requirement for anyone who wants to seriously compete in the race.

Campaign reform has "raised the bar".

OWL

August 16, 2006