Wiseacre
Retired USAF Chief
Was talking with Wrycatcher about this in a sports thread of all places. Right now, I think it's ridiculous; anybody can secretly spend money to elect anybody, that's really crazy. Freedom of speech guarantees that anyone can support any campaign, which is fine. But it seems to me that before any tv ad is run or money accepted that the campaign it is for should have a veto over it. If they approve the ad or accept the money, then that decision should be made public somewhere. Periodically a list of the top donors would be publicized so people know who's getting what from whom.
If it was me I'd have an independent organization through which evey penny must flow before a campaign receives it. The donor and amount is logged, and publicized if over a certain amount, say $5000 or whatever. If the donor is undetermined, the money goes into a pot to be shared with every serious candidate. The organization would be funded by one penny out of very dollar contributed to any campaign or in a tax return where you put a dollar of your taxes to political campaigns. And here's the kicker, violators get fined at least twice the amount that was spent or contributed AND they spend time in jail. While the politician may not be aware, he/she should be; so while I wouldn't put 'em jail unless it can be proved they had a hand in it, I would not allow them to run for office for the next 10 years or so.
If it was me I'd have an independent organization through which evey penny must flow before a campaign receives it. The donor and amount is logged, and publicized if over a certain amount, say $5000 or whatever. If the donor is undetermined, the money goes into a pot to be shared with every serious candidate. The organization would be funded by one penny out of very dollar contributed to any campaign or in a tax return where you put a dollar of your taxes to political campaigns. And here's the kicker, violators get fined at least twice the amount that was spent or contributed AND they spend time in jail. While the politician may not be aware, he/she should be; so while I wouldn't put 'em jail unless it can be proved they had a hand in it, I would not allow them to run for office for the next 10 years or so.
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