Mayday: Our government is going down in flames

Are you tired of merely complaining about government corruption? Here's your chance to do something. I just donated a significant amount of money to the SuperPac Kickstart campaign created by Lawrence Lessig, a tireless leader in the election reform movement. Listen to his 5-minute presentation and then ask yourself, "Isn't this what I've been waiting for?" Please . . . PLEASE listen to this message and consider joining this movement. This approach has real potential to change the way Washington works. You'll need to get past the dark irony that it will take money to beat money. The battle cry is "Mayday"--our government is going down in flames. Become a proud player in this effort. Mayday PAC Launch from lessig on Vimeo.

Continue ReadingMayday: Our government is going down in flames

How to get a member of Congress to listen to your concerns: Offer money

Here's another somber announcement about our so-called democracy, which is on life support: If you want to convince your elected representative to spend time with you, to listen to your concerns, you need to hand him or her LOTS OF MONEY.

Last month, Matea Gold of The Washington Post reported on a pair of political science graduate students who released a study confirming that money does equal access in Washington. Joshua Kalla and David Broockman drafted two form letters asking 191 members of Congress for a meeting to discuss a certain piece of legislation. One email said “active political donors” would be present; the second email said only that a group of “local constituents” would be at the meeting. One guess as to which emails got the most response. Yes, more than five times as many legislators or their chiefs of staff offered to set up meetings with active donors than with local constituents. Why is it not corruption when the selling of access to our public officials upends the very core of representative government? When money talks and you have none, how can you believe in democracy?

Continue ReadingHow to get a member of Congress to listen to your concerns: Offer money

Some Context for my Concern with Government Corruption

I realize that I probably look obsessed due to my many posts about government corruption. Perhaps that is because I saw it first-hand when I worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri. That was back in the late '80s, when William Webster served as Missouri Attorney General. My job required me to prosecute consumer fraud. That's not quite how it worked, however. If the target was a significant contributor, I would be given lots of excuses that good cases were "not good cases." I resisted for many months, documenting my cases as best I could and refusing to close good files--this behavior confused me at first, but then it became all too clear. Ultimately, several substantial cases against major contributors convinced Webster to transfer me out of of the Trade Offense Division. Because I refused his transfer, Webster fired me. Little did I know that my experiences would become a focus for the 1992 Missouri Governor's debate. The debate featured Mel Carnahan (the Democrat) versus William Webster (the Republican). Prior to this debate Webster had held a 20-point lead. The election occurred two weeks after this debate, and Webster conceded by 7:30 pm on election night. During the debate Carnahan blistered Webster with accusations much of the night. You'll get a flavor for this well-deserved barrage if you watch the first 5 minutes--I was discussed beginning at the 3-minute mark. One other Assistant Attorney General also took a bold stand. After it became clear to him that the office was corrupt, Tom Glassberg resigned, immediately driving to Jefferson City to file ethics charges against Webster. Tom wrote a letter defending my reputation and his letter was published by the Post-Dispatch. It was letter I will never forget. A few sentences were read at the Governor's Debate. Those were intense times for me, of course. You can't solve problems like this in a day. It requires immense patience and diplomacy, and bucking the system is risky. When you start resisting, you quickly see who has both a conscience and a backbone. When I see the constant stream of money for political favors stories, I'm disheartened but resolute. Corrupt money and power are formidable, but they can't prevail where good people organize. I'm sure that my time as an AAG was formative, and it continues to drive me forward. One last thought is a sad one for me, however. During the Webster scandal, the St. Louis Post Dispatch was an aggressive newspaper that did real investigative journalism thanks to excellent reporting by several reporters, including Terry Ganey. The Post-Dispatch no longer does significant investigative journalism, as is the case with most newspapers. Reporters across the country are being laid off by the hundreds, and this has led to a huge news vacuum. These days, we simply don't know what is going on in most corners of our government. Many stories don't see the light of day, and the mass media offer no local alternatives (local TV "news" tends to be a joke). Hence my non-stop interest in media reform through organization such as Free Press. Media Reform and Election Reform need to be fixed before we can meaningfully address any other issues. That has so sadly become apparent.

Continue ReadingSome Context for my Concern with Government Corruption

It’s official: The United States is an Oligarchy

We have no hope of fixing any problem in this county until we fix THIS problem, described by Zachary Davies Boren of the U.K. Guardian:

The US government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country's citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern Universities has concluded. The report, entitled Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, used extensive policy data collected from between the years of 1981 and 2002 to empirically determine the state of the US political system. After sifting through nearly 1,800 US policies enacted in that period and comparing them to the expressed preferences of average Americans (50th percentile of income), affluent Americans (90th percentile) and large special interests groups, researchers concluded that the United States is dominated by its economic elite. The peer-reviewed study, which will be taught at these universities in September, says: "The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. . . . "When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.""

Continue ReadingIt’s official: The United States is an Oligarchy

Time to Amend the Constitution to deal properly with Campaign Finance Reform

What can we do about Citizens United and its progeny (including McCutcheon)? Many are now thinking that there is no well-intentioned law that the United States Supreme Court won't destroy given the majority's allegiance to the Chamber of Commerce.   Constitutional scholar Larry Tribe has proposed this constitutional amendment:

Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to forbid Congress or the states from imposing content-neutral limitations on private campaign contributions or independent political campaign expenditures. Nor shall this Constitution prevent Congress or the states from enacting systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting campaign spending or independent expenditures with increased public funding.

Continue ReadingTime to Amend the Constitution to deal properly with Campaign Finance Reform