Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - John McCain

It would be hard for John McCain to ignore the issue of campaign finance reform, I suppose. His solution is pretty standard for the Republicans actually, although expressed more emphatically.

As John McCain has said, "Americans believe that political representation is measured on a sliding scale. The more you give the more effectively you can petition your government." It is no coincidence that the most influential lobbyists with the greatest access in the nation's Capitol are also the most prolific political fundraisers, and that incumbents attract money in far greater volumes than most challengers.

Most Americans understand that competitive elections in a free country require money. Since campaigns require spending funds to communicate with voters, they know we can never take money completely out of politics, nor should we. Americans have a right to support the candidates and the parties they endorse, including financially if they so choose.

But what most Americans worry about profoundly is corporations or individuals with huge checks seeking the undue influence on lawmakers that such largesse is intended to purchase. That is why John McCain has fought to enforce long-standing prohibitions on corporate and union contributions to federal political parties, for sensible donation limits, disclosure of how candidates and campaigns are funded, and the diligent enforcement of these common sense rules that promote maximum public participation in the political process and limit opportunities for corruption.

John McCain understands that in America the people are sovereign, and deserve a political process worthy of the sacrifices that have been made by so many to keep us free and proud. As President, John McCain will see to it that the institutions of self-government are respected pillars of democracy, not commodities to be bought, bartered, or abused.

In other words, he's aware of the issue, but he doesn't favor much more than bandaids. Still even proscribing band-aids is enough to get him in trouble with the Republican Base.

I will say after a week of reviewing these candidates, I still think public financing of elections, mandatory paper trails, and redistricting to make races competitive are all good and necessary ideas.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Ron Paul

Here is Ron Paul's only reference to Campaign Finance Reform.

Those collecting contributions through group activity may be unwittingly running afoul of complex campaign finance regulations or may be deceptively collecting money for other purposes.

No references to Electoral Reform or Voting Machines. Guess Ron Paul isn't interested in this issue.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Fred Thompson

Fred Thompson would also like to point out that Romney has supported campaign finance reform in the past. Of course Thompson voted for McCain Feingold, so he can't pretend to be exactly clean on this issue. Which would explain why he doesn't really address it.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Rudy Giuliani

Well Giuliani thinks that Romney is a lot like Hillary Clinton. That's dirty pool from what I hear. Apparently Romney and Hillary CLinton agree that campaign finance is an issue that out to be addressed - well Giuliani doesn't feel that way. He's in favor of ignoring the issue, to judge by his issues page. The only reason to refer to Campaign Finance is to bash Mitt Romney.

In a bizarre turn of events, one page (the one referenced above) claims that Romney is in favor of McCain Fiengold (or at least things like that). A month later, Giuliani's staff put out a page attacking Romney for being excessively negative, i.e. by criticizing McCain Fiengold. So it really doesn't matter what opinion Romney has on Campaign Finance - either way you should support Giuliani.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Mitt Romney

One good thing about Mitt Romney; he's very predictable. He knows what the right positions on the issues are, and, by gum, he takes them! On campaign finance, the answer is "McCain Fiengold Bad, Public Disclosure Good."

Repeal McCain-Feingold. Governor Romney believes that McCain-Feingold should be repealed because it restricts our First Amendment rights. He believes we should enact reforms that promote transparency and disclosure, preserve grassroots activism and protect the ability to criticize or endorse current officeholders and candidates.

Restore The Free Speech Rights Of The American People. Political speech is at the heart of the First Amendment. The American people must be allowed to advocate for their candidates and their positions without the burdensome limitations of McCain-Feingold.

. . . Support Transparency And Disclosure. McCain- Feingold has driven money into secret corners and given more power to hidden special interests. Governor Romney believes we must have more transparency and disclosure in the process, rather than more restrictions and censorship of political speech.

I don't know exactly how this would work; how hard is now to find out who's donating to political campaigns? Doesn't seem that hard. And one of the problems he's referencing, indirect donations, wouldn't be solved by repealing McCain Fiengold. At any rate, like Keyes, his big issue is preserving the influence of big business over our politicians.

Full public funding of campaigns seems like the better bet.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Tom Tancredo

Let's start with a relatively good joke by Conan O'Brien, as quoted by Tom Trancredo in one of his speeches.

The other night Conan O’Brien announced that Hillary Clinton had raised $36 million dollars, Barak Obama raised $25 million, and Tom Tancredo had raised two children…

He is right. I have raised two children, both of whom I am mighty proud-and they are raising five grandsons. It doesn’t get better than that.

But what Conan is saying is that it is far more important to have raised money than children--- or anything else for that matter-- if you are running for President. I don’t believe that. I won't believe it-because if that is true - corporate America has won--and the good people of this great nation have lost.

That's not bad; but let's see if Tancredo has any solution to the problem of Presidents needing too much money to run for President.

Nope - none that I can find. He is opposed to illegal aliens voting, but that appears to be about it. And he's upset that the moneyed interests that support Republicans and Democrats aren't in favor of getting serious about illegal immigration (well serious as Tancredo defines it, which is very serious and possibly lethal).

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Alan Keyes

Keyes does have a section on Campaign Finance Reform; he's not a fan of McCain Fiengold, and feels that people should be allowed to donate whatever they want to support the candidates. That said, he does have a few caveats.

The first principle is that there will be no "dollar" vote without a ballot vote. Only people who can walk into the voting booth and cast a vote for a candidate should be able to make a contribution to his campaign. This means no corporate contributions, and no union contributions, except from unions truly acting on the authority of members freely associating and intending to make a contribution. There must be no financial contributions whatsoever from any entities that are not actual, breathing voters.

The second principle is that when anyone casts a "dollar" vote, it should be publicized immediately. The whole world should know who is giving how much, and to whom, so that the voters can enforce the result.

Well that's a bit more thoughtful than Duncan Hunter, anyway. But I'm still not sold, mainly because Keyes' priority is to protect the right of the wealthy to donate, not to protect the people from the machinations of the wealthy.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Duncan Hunter

I should tell you how I am doing this, since I am probably going to say several times today "Candidate X doesn't address this issue." Here's the score. I first go to their website and look on their issues page for something that looks likely. I might scan the recent speeches as well. If the website has a search function I will use that with the following three terms "Electoral Reform," "Voting Machines," "Campaign Finance." If that doesn't pan out, or the website doesn't have it's own search engine, I go to Google Advanced and do a similar search in the domain.

I did all that with Duncan Hunter; he apparently has no opinion on Electoral Reform.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Mike Huckabee

Vertical Politics. I don't like the sound of it - because it makes me think of a hierarchical system - people at the top running what happens down below. But when Mike Huckabee uses the term, that's not what he means.

Everywhere I go on the campaign trail, I meet voters with a real thirst for a healthy discussion of the issues. Ultimately, people don't care whether an issue comes from the left or the right. What they want to talk about are ideas that lift America up and make us better. It's what I call "Vertical Politics" and it is why we felt it was so important to set a "Vertical Day" aside to focus on the issues.

One of the goals of Vertical Day, is to give you the ability to promote our campaign and my positions on the issues within your extended network of friends, family members and co-workers.

Hmmmm. So Vertical day is a day for people of all political creeds to get together and support Mike Huckabee? You know people say that Huckabee is an optimistic guy; I guess they are right.

Beyond that, however, unable to find comments on Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Machines or Electoral Reform. A few of his supporters take shots at McCain-Fiengold but other than that not much.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Barack Obama

Obama also has a page on electoral reform and voting rights. So all of the top tier candidates have a page on this, while a number of the secondary candidates don't. I wonder if it is just because this is seen as a secondary issue? The candidates with plenty of money can afford to put one together, but those who's operations are a little more shoe-string have to pick and choose which issues they want to address? Probably.

Anyway here is Obama on making sure everybody has access to the polls.

In recent elections we have seen political operatives purge voters from registration rolls for no legitimate reason, uneven distribution of polling equipment, and efforts to deceive voters about the time, location and rules of elections. A recent study discovered numerous organized efforts to intimidate and mislead voters and suppress voter turnout in minority communities. Few states have enacted clear and effective prohibitions against these abuses. Senator Obama introduced the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act to enable investigations into deceptive practices. It establishes significant harsh penalties for those who have engaged in fraud and it provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.

That is a good and necessary step, but it doesn't address the concerns about voting fraud that occurs after the vote is cast - i.e. Diebold.

Obama also has a page on fixing government, but it doesn't go to the heart of the matter; campaign financing. I mean looking at the perks a Jack Abramoff might give you like free flights or hookers is important. And of course it makes for "sexy" news stories. But the real problem is that our legislatures have to spend much of their time raising funds to run for their office again.

Still I think he'll probably have one leg up over the Republicans.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has a full page on Electoral Reform as well. Nice to see. I find it mordantly funny that she describes herself as a champion of Electoral Reform, but let's see what her ideas are.

She has introduced the Count Every Vote Act to avoid repeating the problems of the past and ensure the integrity of our elections. Her bill:
* Provides a paper trail for every vote cast.
* Designates Election Day as a national holiday.
* Allows same-day registration.
* Minimizes long lines at the polls.
* Makes sure that impartial officials administer our elections.
* Allows the attorney general to bring suit against anyone using deceptive practices (like distributing flyers with incorrect information about voter eligibility) to keep voters from voting.
* Helps states invest in better voting technology.

Some of these sound pretty superficial (minimizing long lines at the polls?), while others are good ideas (making Election Day a national holiday and allowing same day registration).

On the other hand, I'd like to see Clinton talk about ensuring that better voting technology is secure. I'd also like to hear her talk about public financing of elections, which I think is pretty necessary.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - John Edwards

I have to admit I got a bit frustrated yesterday, but I'm back in the saddle today. It helps that Edwards heard of the need for electoral reform and actually addresses it.

America ought to set an example with the most trustworthy, inclusive and secure election system in the world. But recent elections have exposed major flaws, from insecure voting machines to laws and practices that disenfranchise citizens.

Right on both points. Edwards wants to protect American's votes (by insuring that machines use open source software and are audited regularly), expanding voting right and participation (by making election day registration a reality), and ending voter intimidation and suppression.

As for campaign finance reform, Edwards has an idea there too.

Edwards will create a new Grassroots Presidential Financing System to empower regular Americans in a potentially universal public financing system. It will match small donations under $100 by eight to one, making two $100 donations as valuable to a campaign as a single $1,000 donation. (Each $100 donation would receive an $800 match, making them worth $900 each. The $1,000 donation would also receive an $800 match and be worth $1,800.) Edwards will also reduce the maximum contribution from $2,300 to $1,000 per person to better reflect the incomes of most Americans and update the campaign spending limits to attract all candidates into the system.

I don't know - this is a lot like fixing health care by making sure everybody has insurance. It superficially addresses the problem, but doesn't really fix the underlying concerns. He has the right idea when it comes to congressional races (full public funding) but he should go whole hog and use full public funding for all races. Still, while I'm not keen on this idea, it is an idea, which is better than many other candidates can come up with.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Joe Biden

The only thing I can find on Campaign Finance Reform, Electoral Reform or Voting Machines at the Biden site is a statement suggesting that a judicial nominee was unacceptable because he believed Campaign Finance Reform to be unconstitutional. That is certainly a start.

It's possible I'm missing something.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Mike Gravel

I suspect that as bad as it is with the Democrats, Republicans aren't going to mention electoral reform at all (although I suppose Tancredo will mention his fear that illegal aliens might vote). We'll have to see.

Anyway Campaign Finance doesn't warrant a spot on Gravel's issues page, but he has talked about it.

When the senator was questioned on whether or not he supported campaign finance reform, he responded, “Is the Pope Catholic? All these candidates opting out of matching funds, I’m trying to opt in. All I need is $10,000 and I can win with that. Believe me.”

Senator Gravel wrapped up the appearance by promoting his plan for direct democracy; the National Initiative.

“People who acquire power are not want to share it with the people from whom they acquire it. You are theauthority on your life. For the first time in US history we can at last have a government that is not just for the people and of the people, but truly by the people.”

Recent evidence suggest that the Pope is, indeed, Catholic. Not sure what I think about a national initiative. He's right when he says the technology is there and wasn't before, but not sure about the wisdom of turning over certain questions to, well, everybody, and hoping for the best.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Chris Dodd

This might not have been the best subject as I am having to hunt in some cases. And I can't find anything relevant from Chris Dodd's webpage on Electoral Reform or voting machines. According to the West Branch (Iowa) Times, as reprinted at the Dodd campaign website, he is in favor of campaign finance reform.

He has proposed pay-as-you-go legislation to balance the federal budget, campaign finance reform and the patient’s bill of rights.

Presumably he doesn't think it's all that important an issue, or he hasn't gotten around to addressing it yet.

Ironically plugging in Campaign Finance into his websites searchn engine does bring up announcements of several possible internships with the campaign.

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Bill Richardson

On his Civil Rights page, Richardson talks about ensuring voting is handled well, and he appears to have some experience as well.

In 2006, Governor Richardson signed into law the landmark New Mexico Make Every Vote Count Act, that moves the state to a single paper ballot system, makes New Mexico's elections system more transparent and helps guarantee that every New Mexican's ballot will be counted.

Sounds good to me. But what does he have to say about campaign finance? He doesn't mention it on his issues page (that I could find) but he did release a press release on his signing a law having public financing for judicial candidates.

“With the signing of this bill, New Mexico becomes one of only two states in the country to have public financing for judicial races and fulfills a key recommendation of my Ethics Reform Task Force,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “Public financing helps assure that Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judges can run for office without the pressures of partisan campaigning or fundraising, and complements other measures passed this session such as limits on gifts and higher standards of conduct for government officials.”

Sounds pretty good, but the record isn't as deep as I would like

Candidate Review - Electoral Reform - Dennis Kucinich

I am using this title to cover both campaign finance reform, as well as electronic voting, redistricting and other issues. Kucinich is in favor of fixing our electoral system, as you might expect.

A corrupt campaign finance system, coupled with vulnerable electronic voting have eroded America's confidence in our elections.

There it is - how many people really believe that their vote matters?

Kucinich does say the magic words - Complete Public Financing of Elections. Good idea! He also opposes electronic voting; and I'm not with him on this one. Or I see the same problem but don't proscribe the same solution.

We need real voting reform now. Throw out electronic voting machines, that Diebold technology election hacker's dream. Go to paper ballots, a paper trail. Make our election process honest again.

I would rather see us fix the electronic voting machines to provide a paper trail - in the same way that an ATM provides a paper trail.