W. R. Mineo │ wrmineo │ Me

Aunt Cathy Can’t Get to Congress

My Aunt Cathy possesses a quality my congressional representatives do not – the ability to live on a budget. My Aunt Cathy has knowledge that my elected representatives cannot begin to comprehend like how an unexpected co-payment for a doctor’s visit puts an entire family’s budget in peril. These qualities of Aunt Cathy, and many more all over America, would make for down-to-earth, commonsense, representation of the people. But Aunt Cathy will never make it to Washington, because of another budget crisis.

Campaign Financing

Campaign financing in the United States has taken representation of the people and allowed it to be sold to the highest bidder of representation for profiteers. Aunt Cathy cannot get to Congress because she cannot raise $2 million dollars to compete against an incumbent with tacit sponsorship stickers covering his morals and attache. Overhauling the current laws governing campaign finance, to a public funded election system, is essential to our American democracy, so that we can make it easier for citizens to commit to public service, keep corporations out of Congress, and have a better make up of representatives more accurately depicting their constituents.

Public Funding

Public funding of elections is already done with presidential elections in the United States. Additionally, many states have public funding for different levels of elected office within their respective states. I further define public funded elections as monies received by candidates by individual donors, while barring all political action committee (PAC) and corporate campaign contributions.

For the sake of examining the benefits of public funded elections, we will put our “Aunt Cathy” up against an actual incumbent member of the United States Representatives, Ron Lewis, serving Kentucky’s Second Congressional District (KY-02).

Many Americans incorrectly associate Abraham Lincoln’s remarks at Gettysburg as being part of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution; but indeed, his challenge to the nation and its future generations, was a restatement of the ethos of our founding fathers wrote about in our country’s declaration as a democratic nation. For our democratic nation to truly be represented of  the people, requires that citizens from all socioeconomical backgrounds have the prospect to seek public office, to better represent the whole, and just not the privileged and paid up. Public funded elections would open up the opportunities for Aunt Cathy and others to seek elected, strengthening our American Democracy. Without public funded elections, Aunt Cathy will not be able to overcome the obstacles that have been embanked and fortified around the castle walls of incumbent office holders.

Incumbency Advantage

What is the big advantage of an incumbent? Giving equal time to Aunt Cathy’s opponent, let’s take a quick look at his background and at his campaign fund-raising and major contributors comparing two election cycles, a decade separated. In 1994, Ron Lewis, a small business owner of a Christian bookstore and a Baptist minister won a special election to fill the seat of a deceased congressman. For his first regular election campaign in 1996, The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Ron Lewis raised over $630,000. A small town minister with great credentials, Lewis received nearly $396,000 (62.5%) from individual contributors in 1996; but, already established as an incumbent, Lewis received and additional $213,000 from PACs, or 33.6% of his total source of funds. In large contrast, for the 2006 campaign, Ron Lewis raised more than $1.7 million dollars, of that only 38% ($655,000) came from individual contributors, whereas over $1 million dollars came from PACs.

Aunt Cathy doesn’t stand a chance against an incumbent who is so heavily supported by special interest groups. Our current elected representative you’ll remember is an ordained Baptist minister. Throughout his tenure, his overall second and third greatest contributors to his campaign funds, have been whiskey distillers and tobacco companies respectively. It may be wrong to buy a person or bribe an official, but it seems the elected office has a substantial price tag. The conflict of interest created by allowing large contributors and PACs to heavily fund candidates is not in keeping with our American ideal of a government of the people. Public funded elections would remove special interest groups and allow for the reinsertion of citizen groups.

Since his election, our incumbent has increasing sought, received and accepted greater amounts of PAC contributions. During his tenure, Ron Lewis has continued to author and sponsor bills that benefit his major contributors. For example, beginning in 1996, Lewis sponsored his first congressional bill, one that would give whiskey distillers tax incentives and tax breaks, while the citizens in the Second Congressional District of Kentucky were looking for economic relief. Public funded elections would remove financial implied obligations by elected officials to their large contributors, allowing for representation of the people, and not Corporate America.

Revamping Campaign Finance Laws

A true revamp of campaign financing laws would meet countless struggles with vociferous critics. The most boisterous bellowers would undoubtedly be two-fold: politicians who fund their campaigns with mostly non-individual contributions and the political action committees who have paid millions for the congressional representation that they now enjoy. Undoubtedly, many of these opponents will do what they do best – play politics, instead of make policy. While others may introduce policy, merely as a ploy of playing more politics; an elected official can introduce legislation, giving the appearance of attempting to make change, fully expecting the measure to be buried.

A bill currently floating through Senate committees (SB 1285) that is co-sponsored by current United States Presidential Candidate, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), takes a step towards giving public funding to all U.S. Senate races, for many of the aforementioned reasons, and more. This law is not likely to survive the current legislative session because it has been buried in committee reviews since its introduction. The basis for the bill, the language of the bill, and the necessity of the bill will likely perish, but the need for such new thinking cannot, if we are to preserve our American democracy by bringing about campaign financing overhauls, leading to public funded, and not corporate controlled, elections.

Send Aunt Cathy to Congress

Our Aunt Cathy is not likely to make it to Congress this session, but we can make it happen! Let us never forget that every citizen is a constituent, every constituent has a voice, but it must be heard. If you want Aunt Cathy and more like her to make it to Congress, where the American democracy can truly be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then we must make that path available by moving towards a public funded election system that will overhaul campaign financing; the people, not corporations and special interests, should pay for our representation.

Works Cited

Federal Elections 96: U.S. House Results. 31 December 1996. Federal Elections Commission. 17 March 2008. < http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe1996/hrky.htm>.

Open Secrets. 31 December 2007. The Center for Responsive Politics. 16 March 2008. <http://www.opensecrets.org>.

Fair Elections Now Act. 03 May 2007. United States Senate. 21 March 2008. < http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:s1285is.txt.pdf>.

Author Notes:

1. This was originally written, but unpublished, in March 2008 as a Definition Argument paper for a continuing education English class, but the points remain valid, I believe.  Luckily for my (KY-02) congressional district, Ron Lewis is no longer in office, but sadly, he’s been replaced by another equally-compromised politician who cows to political fund backers and not the public he is entrusted to represent. However, the point remains the same – we need REAL people in Washington with REAL ethics, morals and common sense. Please send Aunt Cathy to Congress and bring back the bigots we mistakenly sent!

2. I do have a “real” Aunt Cathy who is a small business owner of Mattoon Flower Shop in Illinois. It was a mere convenience of rhetorical deployment of cacophony that I decided to use her name – although she and others like her should be running our fiscal and other national issues!

3. I can neither thank nor acknowledge adequately Professor Allison Palumbo for her professionalism, drive, objectivity, mentoring and friendship – an educator who truly plants the seeds of inspiration, dedication and discipline that will be sprouting throughout the world for generations to come – thank you, Professor!