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Should the US government help fund election campaigns?

Results so far:

Yes
30% 129 votes Total: 436 votes
No
70% 307 votes

THE POWER OF GOLD
Here's your quiz: if Candidate X chooses to accept no private money and opts for public financing only, what will Lobbyist Z do with his huge war chest? This is not as far-out as you might think, because a lot of Americans want to find assurance that their vote means something in an election campaign of the not-too-distant future. This time there is hope for a sensible, workable resolution of the problem.

Two powerful senators, Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Arlen Specter, have proposed that candidates show their election worthiness by collecting signatures and small contributions from people who are eligible to vote for them. If this step is successful, they can legally bind themselves to accept no private funding for the rest of the campaign. The Congress can put this in place, and one wonders whether Mr. Bush would sign such a measure (currently titled "Fair Elections Now Act").

SPECIAL INTERESTS NEED NOT APPLY
Some people are screaming already, "It's not fair; I wanted to give money to Candidate X." It's the candidate's choice to restrict his or her campaign to public funding, all of which is accounted and paid with tax dollars. There can be no huge donations from corporations, trade unions, political action committees, or private citizens. This clears the way for cutting the strings of obligation that seem to bind our representatives' hands now, strings attached to hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars of "gifts." Anyone who believes there are no return expectations when you give someone a million dollars lives in a saner world than this one!

A FAIR GAME FOR A FAIR RACE
The theory behind the Act is that big money will still be required to take federal offices in elections, and if that is the case, that big money should be equally available to all running for the offices. Imagine a level playing field for all those seeking office; it is a dream that might just come true.

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Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Should the US government help fund election campaigns?

Yes
  • 1 of 18

    by Matthew J. Geiger

    Elections are the bread and butter of our Constitutional Democratic Republic. In practice, elections are very expensive,

    read more

  • 2 of 18

    by Kate Johnson

    Not only should the US government help fund election campaigns, the government should provide a fixed and finite medium for

    read more

No
  • 1 of 23

    by Lorie Grant DeWorken

    The US government should NOT help fund election campaigns. It would only make the problem worse!

    Without a doubt, current

    read more

  • 2 of 23

    by Chad Morgan

    The United States Government is one that is very unique. It is so unique that just about every new country ie. Iraq has tried

    read more

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