Bernie is Right on Campaign Finance Reform

Bernie Sanders is making points with Democrat voters by attacking our corrupt campaign finance laws. Republicans should weigh in on this one.

My favorite solution to Campaign Finance Reform is to restrict campaign contributions to registered voters who would be able to contribute to candidates who would appear on their ballot.

Registered voters would not be able to make contributions to candidate who do not appear on their ballots.

Special Interest groups could exercise their free political speech by putting their positions on issues on their own websites.

Lobbyists could continue to take their case to the people and to the legislators, but would not be allowed to make cash contributions to candidates.  

Special Interest groups would not be allowed to make campaign contributions to candidates. This would stop the bribery that buys votes in Legislatures. This law could be passed by State Legislatures who really want to solve the problem.  That move would put pressure on other states to do the same and would eventually put pressure on Congress.

Registered Republicans could make campaign contributions to Republican candidates. This would cover local elections for city council, county commissions, judges, state offices, US Congressional candidates and US Presidential candidates. The same goes for Democrats. Rules for Registered Independents would need to be drafted.

This would call an end to $billion dollar campaign costs and would make candidates put more information on their own websites.  They would need to cover their positions on issues, their bios, their resumes and other relevant information. 

Each US Congressional District has about 600,000 citizens, so small contributions to a website could fund a campaign.

Voters would need to look at these websites and have a way to ask questions and get answers.  A good website would post these questions and answers. Voters will also need to make campaign contributions.

This should end the practice of negative campaign ads and other expensive activities. Robo-calls and mailed brochures may not be affordable.

A local city council candidate in a city of 40,000 could fund an inexpensive campaign for less than $8000. They should learn to build and maintain their websites. Yard signs cost from $4 to $5 apiece and 500 yard signs should suffice. Several Candidate Forums would need to be provided over a 6 month period. The candidate should have a volunteer campaign manager and treasurer. A county-wide race could require a lot more funding to cover with yard signs.

If the legitimacy of our Republic is based on the consent of the governed, we need to make sure that our representatives actually work for us.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader