Sen. Fritz Hollings: Money Is a Cancer in Politics

[unhappycamper]

Money Is a Cancer in Politics
Sen. Fritz Hollings
Former South Carolina Senator
Posted: October 14, 2010 10:57 AM

Money, a growing cancer in politics, needs to be excised. In my seventh election to the United States Senate in 1998, I had to raise $8.5 million. $8.5 million factors to $30,000 a week, each week, every week, for six years. It's not just raising campaign funds the year ahead of the election any more. In order to raise this sum, you have to travel the country and still depend on Washington assistance. To get that assistance you have to raise money for other Senators who are up during the six years in order to get their assistance when you're up. Thus, the beginning of Washington influence on local elections. Tip O'Neill's rule that: "All politics is local," has changed to "most politics is national." The national media and pundits have taken over campaigns.

The 1971 and 1973 Congress limited spending in federal campaigns. The vote was bi-partisan and President Richard Nixon signed both measures into law. The Congressional intent was to prohibit the buying of the office. But the Supreme Court in Buckley vs. Valeo, set aside the '73 Act and now requires candidates for office to veritably buy the seat. The Court limited the freedom of speech with money, amending Madison's first amendment to the Constitution. Now, we have Corzine in New Jersey spending $60 million of his own money to be elected to the United States Senate; Bloomberg spending $109 million to be Mayor of New York, and Meg Whitman spending $118 million in the California Governor's primary and the election is not until November. In Citizens United the Supreme Court now has permitted Corporate America to secretly buy the office. All a corporation has to do is to contribute to a 501(c)(4) group and the State has lost its ability to elect its own Congressman or Senator. Last minute out-of-state money elected Brown to the U. S. Senate in Massachusetts; Miller in the Republican primary in Alaska; O'Connell in the Republican primary in Delaware. In "The Secret Election" The New York Times editorializes against corporate takeovers: "...the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive election cycle since the Watergate years."

Today, Congress spends most of its time on the needs of the campaign with little time for the needs of the country. When I came to the U. S. Senate in 1966, Mansfield, the Majority Leader, had a vote nine o'clock every Monday morning to ascertain a quorum to do business. And on Friday he kept us in until five o'clock in the afternoon. Now Congress spends Mondays and Fridays out of Washington raising money. In Washington on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays Senators have fund raisers at breakfast, lunch and dinner. A special week each month is reserved for fund raising, with Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays merged to go to California and New York to fund raise. The Republican or Democratic lunches on Tuesdays are mostly to strategize fund raisers for Senators up for re-election. Thursday's policy lunches are now canceled so that Senators can go to the party headquarters in the District for two hours to make calls for money. With committee meetings and floor debates, there is little time left to see constituents, only contributors. Senators of one party seldom work with Senators of the opposite party. It used to be different -- but when Republican Senators on my Commerce Committee had a fund raiser against me in Washington and all except Ted Stevens attended, I had the feeling that, if they wanted to get rid of me, I wanted to get rid of them. This explains the partisanship.

Washington is full of pollster politicians. The first rule of the pollster is: "Never divide the voters. Comment on both sides of an issue and answer you're 'concerned,' you're 'troubled.'" You're taught not to lead -- do nothing, just vote the poll and raise money. The real needs of a country, like a Marshall Plan, are never found in a political poll. This allows the Washington lobbyists with the money to run Congress. For example, Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform obtains a commitment against taxes long before a senator can be elected. Any senator wanting to pay the bill for government is talking to a fixed jury. The cover of a recent issue of Time headlines: "The Best Laws Money Can Buy. $3.5 billion was spent on lobbyist last year. Why that's the biggest bargain in town." And rather than covering the issues, the media covers the ups and downs of the parties by covering the money. The headline in USA Today was "Big cash edge for GOP in state bids."

Like a dog chasing its tail, Congress has tried for thirty-five years to control spending in federal elections, only to be thwarted by the Supreme Court intent on equating speech with money. To return to Madison's freedom of speech, Congress needs to pass a Joint Resolution amending the Constitution "to authorize Congress to limit or control spending in federal elections." I proposed such a Joint Resolution, obtaining bi-partisan approval of the majority of the U. S. Senate, but never the two-thirds required to amend the Constitution. Then Phil Gramm made it a partisan issue, telling me: "When you Democrats give up the unions, we'll give up the money." The Republicans were in control my last three years in the Senate, but they would never call a Joint Resolution for consideration for fear of having to vote on the Hollings amendment limiting spending. Shortly after I introduced my amendment, the Governors Conference called asking that money be limited in state elections. My point is that the people would approve such a Joint Resolution in a New York minute. They resent the corruption of money in politics.

[Jamastiene]

1. K&R

They are too busy raising funds to govern any more.

[xchrom]

2. they govern with money in mind, nt