How often do we fall into treating the symptom, rather than the cause? Our politicians have certainly done so.
I’ve received 10 fund-raising calls this week for various candidates. “It takes about $100MM to run a campaign, these days.”
A very important message for our politicans: this $100MM campaign crap is going to drain likely half a BILLION dollars from U.S. citizens this year (assuming 2 candidates from each party @ 100MM). I can think of some excellent uses for that money, none of which involve giving candidates more money than God to play with. Not only does it assure that big donors will become ever-more-important (and thus ever-more-influential), but it means candidates must spend all their time fund-raising.
The solution is not to beg for money–I’ve had myself removed from every list after receiving roughly 10 calls from the Dems this week. The solution is to bring in real campaign finance reform, which our existing incumbents are in a fine position to do.
At this point, I’m torn as to what to do. Honestly, I’ve given all the money I care to already. Spending money this early in the game, despite the frantic attempts by the media and the politicians to convince me that it’s needed this early, isn’t going to do much for anyone.
Don’t fix the symptom, guys, fix the cause. Please.