Mick Mulvaney, DJ Trump's Budget Director and the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told 1,300 banking executives and lobbyists at an American Bankers Association conference in Washington. that "trying to sway legislators with campaign contributions is one of the “fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy.” Referencing his days as a Congressman from So. Carolina “We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress,” “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/mulvaney-consumer-financial-protection-bureau.html
A lobbyist wouldn't put it that way. They'd say a politician talks with his friends, and the lobbyist aims to be the politician's friend. A politician needs campaign funds, and wouldn't a friend help him in his election bid by donating to his campaign?
Any democracy. How do government officials get elected in democracy? They need to spend money to get elected, that's how people get influence on these politicians. You cannot get away from that no matter what.
That's why we need serious campaign finance reform. My version: Use tax payer funded money only. In the current system, the government is spending so much money to special interest after they got in office anyhow. Devise a system where top 2, 3, 4 candidates (by a pre-election poll) to receive so much money for campaign plus some TV time. Period. No money from any one else.
How do you get to be a top 2,3,4 candidate in the first place? Or do you mean anyone can get government funding if they want to run for office?
I don't think we can universalize it. The US has a particular problem with this, built on the twin pillars of "money is speech" and "corporations are people." Other countries don't have a problem with putting caps on fundraising or campaign spending or directly funding candidacies. France for example, does not allow companies to give campaign donations and caps the size of individual donations as well as the total amount a campaign is allowed to spend: http://www.dw.com/en/french-elections-who-finances-the-candidates/a-38704682. They also don't allow lobbyists to give donations or gifts: https://s3.amazonaws.com/documents.lexology.com/984eb3ec-a7a0-4807-8522-aa7af9dd7e6d.pdf. Not that everything is rosy in french politics, but politicians don't live off the teat of the billionaire donor like American politicians do.
That money is speech and corporations are people is a total joke, it is funny so many people in this country support this because it helps their party.
Did you read "by a pre-election poll" ? Another mechanism can be a petition signed by an x number of people.
Which is another form of election, which can be manipulated by money, this is like the primaries today.
Sounds like Mulvaney doesn't intend to ever seek elected office again. Can you imagine his opponent's campaign ads?
Looks like you are seeking for a perfect, no money in politic system and I agree that’s not possible. So what use is it to seek perfection and the impossible vs an improvement? We need strong campaign reform to get $$$ out of politic, to limit it to some reasonable level. It took a huge step backward a couple of years ago... and under this admin and congress that is not going to change anytime soon. Hopefully we eventually get there with the next admin and congress.
Agree with you there.Money is speech lol, I cannot believe these people came up with this brilliant idea.
