JLF president John Hood weighs in on the “unethical ethics bill” making its way through the General Assembly:
As long as government has the power to impose massive taxes and regulations on private economic decisions, big-money interests will seek to influence the government’s decisions. If their dollars can’t flow directly to campaigns, the money will flow into independent political expenditures, insider lobbyists, outsider grassroots lobbying, political parties, media campaigns, and a host of other activities that are far less transparent to the voters than campaign donor lists are. So forcing taxpayers to fund political campaigns won’t “combat big money.” It will just reduce our freedom to decide which candidates and causes we will support, if any.
The argument for taxpayer-funded welfare for politicians isn’t just nonsensical. It’s grotesque. In the name of ethics, the General Assembly would be committing an unambiguously unethical act.
Commander Hood mentions Arizona’s illegal public campaign financing law, which was just halted by the Supreme Court. Let’s take a look at what was in Arizona prior to the Court’s intervention. Both Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Terry Goddard —- the presumptive nominees from their respective parties —- were participating in public campaign financing.
I’m sure Brewer and the state’s GOP had their methods of getting around the law, but note this interesting NYT article on Goddard’s recent activities:
Seeking to harness some of the national uproar over Arizona’s new immigration law, the state’s likely Democratic candidate for governor this fall and the chairman of Arizona’s Democratic Party visited New York last week.
The visit, paid for by the Arizona state party, was intended to cultivate political donors and to raise the profile of Terry Goddard, Arizona’s attorney general and the presumed Democratic candidate for governor.
Public campaign financing is a total joke and does absolutely nothing to raise ethical standards. If anything it lowers ethical standards, as exemplified by Arizona’s Democratic party seeking to involve wealthy New Yorkers in its gubernatorial race.
JLF’s Daren Bakst has further analysis.