{news} BaltimoreSun " Lesson from Corrupticut"

[Tim McKee]

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.campaign02sep02,0,4373971.story



baltimoresun.com
================


Lesson from 'Corrupticut'
-------------------------


Our view: Ruling against campaign finance reform should not deter
Maryland

September 2, 2009

[IMAGE]

Efforts to reduce the influence of big-money special interests in state
elections suffered a setback late last week with the decision of a
federal judge to throw out Connecticut's landmark campaign finance law on
the grounds it put third-party candidates at a disadvantage.

The ruling has significant implications for Maryland, where legislators
have been seriously considering a similar approach to publicly financed
state-level political campaigns for the past five years. The proposal has
won support in the House of Delegates and has gotten as far as the floor
of the Maryland Senate - until a procedural move late in this year's
legislative session forced it back into committee.

The concept is fairly simple: People running for House or Senate seats,
incumbents and newcomers alike, would have the option of public
financing. To qualify, they'd have to first raise a minimum amount of
money through small donations from a minimum number of people living in
their districts.

What U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill found most troubling,
however, was a provision in the Connecticut law that set tougher
fundraising standards for candidates from minor political parties, such
as the Green Party, than for Republicans and Democrats.

The ruling is a bit of a puzzle to campaign finance reform advocates
since publicly financing clearly makes it easier for nontraditional
candidates to win office. The good news is this approach to third party
candidates is unique to Connecticut and is not the standard used in Maine
and Arizona, the two other states that have adopted public financing.

The bottom line is that nothing in Judge Underhill's opinion should deter
the Maryland General Assembly from moving forward with reforms next year.
Under the Maryland proposal, a candidate of any party must receive nearly
400 small donations from individuals living in his or her district to
qualify for public money - that's enough of a deterrent to sort out the
odd kook or gadfly.

The bigger challenge is funding the program. Lawmakers will likely be
reluctant to tap taxpayer dollars of most any variety at a time when the
state budget faces a potential $1 billion-plus shortfall.

But the opportunity to reduce the influence of special-interest money in
the election process may be the best bargain taxpayers will ever see. How
many wasteful programs, bloated contracts or other costly excesses are
tied to major campaign donors?

What Maryland doesn't need is a major political scandal to force
lawmakers to embrace reform. Yet the ongoing federal investigation into
Sen. Ulysses Currie, chairman of the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee,
and his close ties to a Prince George's County supermarket chain, could
result in just that.

The compromise presented last spring - a limited pilot program for the
2014 election - would provide a reasonable start. Even Senate President
Thomas V. Mike Miller - the patron saint of Maryland campaign fundraising
- endorsed the proposal, leaving other lawmakers little excuse not to.
Legislators need to approve the measure early next year or risk the wrath
of disillusioned Maryland voters who tire of money-driven
politics-as-usual.

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun




******************************************
Tim McKee, New Britian, CT, main number cell-860-778-1304
National Committee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT.
CT GREEN TIMES
The blog-journal of the CT Green Party is now online! Visit
http://www.ctgreentimes.org

CT GREEN PARTY ON FACEBOOK
Please join the Facebook group at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105209184665



-- 
An Excellent Credit Score is 750 
See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps!

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20090902/4d196ac2/attachment.html>