CAMDEN — A candidate for the Republican nomination for president wants greater freedom for the wealthy to give unlimited cash to campaigns. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, in a presumed presidential campaign stop in New Hampshire recently, commented that allowing unlimited cash contributions to candidates should be as much a part of the political process as placing a campaign sign in the front yard.
Only a Texas Republican could say that.
The American political system is already out of whack, thanks in part because of the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, which allowed too much money to be funneled into campaigns with too little accountability.
There was a time when there were more stringent limits on the amount of money spent on political campaigns. The thinking was that powerful interests and wealthy individuals should not have the ability to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens of limited financial resources.
Now, candidates work especially hard to gather money, sometimes years in advance of announcing they are seeking public office. The cost of getting their message out, especially to a national audience, has become obscenely expensive.
Then there are various committees, political action committees and others, that gather money from the wealthy to push their agenda with candidates, and to saturate the media with their message. Often, the money used by these groups is difficult to trace, making it hard to understand who’s backing the campaigns of candidates.
Cruz is a favorite with the far right in the Republican Party, which means he will attract lots of money from wealthy donors.
His comment to a question during the New Hampshire stop was “money absolutely can be speech.”
Really? The wealthy already have an out-sized influence in American politics. Giving them more clout is destructive to government of the people and by the people.
It isn’t likely to happen in the short term, but what Congress must do is rewrite campaign finance law to sharply curtail the amount of money — especially so-called dark money from murky sources — contributed to candidates and campaigns. Limits on dubious advertising by third-party groups is needed, as well.
The presidential election almost is 18 months away. The feeding frenzy of campaign finance that is in full swing should be a warning to all of the new depths of mudslinging and half-truths we’re in for as the date nears.
– Harrison Daily Times