Campaign Reform

The recent announcement that the House Republican leaders plan to raise $25 million for the trench warfare they expect to wage in the battle for control of the House in 2000 came as no surprise. What was noteworthy was their stated intention to collect this money through so-called soft money contributions, and not to reveal necessarily the particular source of such generous giving. That news has left even the more jaundiced observers of our campaign finance system …

…have introduced. Whether it is the pharmaceutical industry's resistance to legislation that would give seniors a break from having to pay the high price of prescription drugs, or the insurance industry's opposition to meaningful reforms of managed health care - the power of big money and vested interests in Washington is pervasive. If we are to make progress on these and other issues, we need to have campaign finance reform - sooner rather than later.