With so many good sessions going on today (Friday) at YearlyKos, I thought it couldn't hurt to post my admittedly rough speaking notes for the panel on election reform that I will be on along with Adam Bonin, Kris Novoselic, Krysten Sinema and John Morris. Also, since the panel is at 8:00am, I bet there are a fair number of people who (ahem) probably won't be up that early.
Three main themes to touch on: the Problem of Money in Politics; the Clean Money Solution; Action Steps.
PROBLEM: Money is the Achilles heel of American democracy
Here are the four main reasons why we have to change how money affects elections in America.
-Campaigns are too expensive. The cost of running for office is skyrocketing, deterring many good people from even entering the process.
-Good candidates without money or connections to wealthy interests don't have a fair chance of competing for office
-Politicians are forced to spend too much time raising money rather than devoting themselves to being public servants.
-Special interests have too much influence, while ordinary people get "good government."
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