I think the solution has a lot to do with finding politicians willing to fall on their own sword for the good of the whole. I think that’s what it will take. Power is the currency of politics and money is a means to acquire political capital. Those who have power to effect change give up that power if they cut off the money. So they have to be willing to change the system and give up their power as a result.

Look for politicians willing to self-inflict a politically fatal wound.

Ultimately, the answer is to do as you suggest Lance – vote! Vote every time you have a chance, and yes – vote local. The real cronies – and the ones who have a hugely direct impact on your life are the ones closest to you. They count on you not voting, and not caring.

Surprise them! Go to “town hall” meetings, write – or better yet, call – your representatives. Do what the voters of Massachusetts did this past week – nothing shakes things up like reminding them that these positions are leased, not bought, and certainly not “owned”. You CAN make a difference!

I’ll let you know that when I see the figures above and examined the way corporations and unions were spending on elections, I have to ask exactly what protections were in place to begin with? It seems that much of it had to do with accounting and less to do with truly restricting spending.

What if we could restrict campaign dollars to individuals only donating to other individual’s campaigns? I mean, I’d love that. Is that going to happen though? Were we anywhere close to that in our last system?

That’s why I think Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall a while back. Meaningful reform done by the very people with a significant stake in the game won’t happen. That’s why corporations could still spend millions of dollars on a single campaign. That’s why unions and special interest groups could do the same. And every single one of those dollars that they spend is one less a politician has to find.

I agree with your solution generally though. Voting is more than a singular activity. It is about being aware of how your decisions impact the world. And obviously money is going to continue to be a part of that.

I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot lately… there are a few problems here:
1. The Supreme Court changed a century of law without a fundamental change in circumstance. (The GOP should be fuming about this “activist” decision, but they’re not. That alone is fishy.)
2. The decision allows for more and easier Swift Boat activism. And while lies are often punished, the damage they inflict is often permanent. (Enron’s policies caused Gray Davis to get recalled in CA… turns out, they were crooked and he was right. OOPS.)
3. It’s more than distrust of companies, it’s my distrust the selfish individuals who will forget what’s at stake and not be careful that has me worried: think of how loosely marketing depts sometimes play with facts to support a product, and now unleash them on our political system.
4. The 1st amendment was not written to protect commercial speech, it was written to protect political speech. What we have now is a situation where the former is masked as the latter. That’s insidious and corrosive.

The solution is more than “vote.” The solution is a return of the “neighborhood” concept… less time relaxing, more time working with others on what’s important; more time speaking up, trading ideas, and getting smart about important issues.

The voting process is more than casting a ballot. Voting is an ongoing obligation we all share as members of a free society. And the only reason this $ issue has become a problem is because we’ve let it be known that we are lazy and rather than make up our own minds, we are willing to do whatever someone tells us to do via our TVs.