A self-serving demon is creeping through the vital machinery of our democracy. Like an invisable fog of asphyxiating gas, special interest money is silently draining from the entrails of the Republican Party and wrapping its tendrils around the Democratic Party.
Its possession of the Republicans has led them to betray both the traditional positions of the party and the common interest of the nation. Now, sensing the growing anger of a country which has seen its honor and its resources squandered, this demon is leaving the twisted body of its host and migrating to the Democrats. And America will watch as a coat of lipstick is applied to the face of a corrupt government, which serves the people only sufficiently to quell their ire while steadily giving away our common resources to its shady financial backers.
We have been led to believe that there is no way to exorcise this demon, but there is. The problem is not money itself but the sources of the money. As long as the bulk of the money underwriting our campaign system comes from corporations and special interests, our government will disproportionately serve those interests. If our government is ever to serve the general public, the funding for the conduct of political campaigns must come from the general public and be allocated under rules that are neutral with regard to the political ideas of candidates.
Such systems are already alive and functioning very well in several states. There are two bills before Congress right now to create this system at the federal level. Go to www.publicampaign.org to find out the details. Then call your representatives and tell them to support public funding of electoral campaigns because you want your government back.
Ken Dammand
Marysville
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