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Democracy Matters campaigns for fair elections By Randall Franklin With elections in the air, I have been thinking a lot lately about how someone gets to run for president, or Congress, or even the state legislature. I have a couple of friends who I think would be great at representing myself and other Brockport students. They are smart, they work hard and they worry about things like global warming, fixing the health care system, lowering the price of gas and reducing the interest rates on student loans. They really understand what we care about. The only problem is that there is no way they can run. Not even when they get to the required age. Why? Because they don’t have the money. Everyone knows that the costs of political campaigns are outrageous and increasing every year — but did you know that in 2006 it took an average of $9.6 million to win a Senate seat and $1.2 million to become a member of the House of Representatives? By last month — even with the election still far off — the presidential hopefuls had already raised and spent a total of $500 million. In most states, even running for a legislative seat can cost thousands of dollars. My friends can’t begin to raise that kind of cash, and neither can most Americans. So, it seems like our democracy has become more about whom wealthy donors and special interests decide to fund, and less about who has good ideas. That excludes my friends and most everyone else who cares about cleaning up the environment, lowering the fees on student loans, getting our country to stop depending on oil — you get the picture. In fact, right now the biggest donors to the presidential candidates are from the business sector labeled “Finance, Insurance and Real Estate” — the same folks who got us into the present economic mess. Their goal is to preserve their huge profits by blocking the reforms and regulations that would prevent another crisis. They know that their money buys them political influence That seems downright un-American. But what can we do? How do we take back our democracy? How do we make sure that politicians are accountable to the people, not to funders? How do we fulfill the promise that anyone can run for office? April 14 to 18 the Brockport Chapter of Democracy Matters is celebrating the “Fair Elections Week of Action,” to do just that! Fair Elections is a voluntary system where candidates can qualify for a public grant instead of raising private money for their campaigns. This law allows candidates to run for office even if they can’t raise the big bucks. Instead of spending hours “dialing for dollars” to rich special interests, they can talk with voters to find out what their constituents, including college students, want. But how exactly would this help my friends? In states that already have Fair Elections (a public financing option), more young people can afford to run for office. So can other citizens without ties to big business and special interests. In Maine, Connecticut, Arizona, North Carolina and other states with Fair Elections, voters get to choose among a more diverse group of candidates — not just wealthy politicians. Most importantly, when elected, Fair Elections candidates are accountable to the people who vote for them, not to big private funders. As a national student organization, Democracy Matters has joined with other groups like the NAACP, Common Cause, Sierra Club, AFL-CIO, Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund and many others to spread the word about the promise of Fair Elections for state, Congressional and presidential campaigns. It is a proven system that works. Join us to take back our democracy, stop the money chase and create responsive, accountable elected officials. It just might mean that my friends — or you — could be the state representative, senator, or even president who solves the next big crisis. Find out more at wwww.democracymatters.org |
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