I AM THE FORCE

The hapless do-gooders at Common Cause and the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign are hilarious and despicable all at the same time. Let's review what this conglomeration of lefties and the washed-up would like to happen. They want strict limits on campaign spending. They hope to prevent independent spending and anonymous speech. They want a "level playing field" for everyone running for office. They want public financing of campaigns. Why are these things good and righteous? I guess because Tweedledee(Mike McCabe) and Tweedledum(Jay Heck) say so. Does anyone else find it ironic that a group called the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is committed to limiting participation in our democracy? One of the many things that these nitwits fail to understand is that political contributions are a representation of the people's support. A politician that sucks at doing his job will have a much harder time raising money and running a successful campaign than the politician who takes care of his constituents. A legislator that supports the farmers' agenda will get support and contributions from farmers. A legislator who does the bidding of Isthmus socialists will receive financial support from that quarter. People in the business community might spend money against that socialist for the same reason. Campaign money is a representation of voter support!! But Bill Krause and his guys have a better idea -- stop people and groups from contributing or spending to influence elections. It's all corruption!! Why would farmers want to elect anyone who supports government policies that benefit farmers? Why would insurance agents want to re-elect someone who agrees with their views? Why would business owners want to elect people who would reduce Wisconsin's tax burden? It's all very suspicious, isn't it? Democracy breaking out everywhere. Shouldn't the individuals and groups that actually care about public policy be allowed to engage in the clash of ideas that is a political campaign? The answer of the righteous folks that want campaign finance reform is absolutely not. They are arrogant enough to think that voters are not bright enough to assess the competing campaign speech and make voting decisions for themselves. Further regulation and restriction of speech is Russ Feingold's prescription for American politics. Isn't the real beauty of American democracy that people have the opportunity to hear all views in a campaign and then go into the voting booth and decide for themselves? We should be encouraging more political speech rather than less. But these guys want to narrow the range of participants. If WMC spends money to convince voters that a candidate is bad, and the unions spend money to convince voters that he or she is good, and the realtors weigh in on the negative, and the Farm Bureau calls the candidate a friend of agriculture, and one candidate spends the money he's raised, and the other candidate spends the money they've raised, HOW IS THIS A BAD THING? Real people will review the arguments and make their own decisions. They will pick the candidate they prefer. If an incumbent has displeased them, then that incumbent will be replaced. This is a great system we have. People can contribute to campaigns, or volunteer, or simply vote and have a hand in deciding their representatives. People can even decide to run for office themselves if they really want to step up and take responsibility. The People's Legislature freaks are dead wrong. Corrupt special interests don't control Wisconsin government. Individuals and groups that participate in our democracy are the true decisionmakers. McCabe, Garvey and Feingold just don't like what the people decide.