They don’t like the rules, but they’ll play by them if they must.
I listened to the Democrats debate what they think about a couple White House politicos leaving their post to start a couple of campaign fundraising machines. (See HuffingtonPost piece that analyzes their moral dilemma)
Ponder this:
It seems that the Democrats and their media cheerleaders are highly critical of Republicans who vote in a way that might seem to be consistent with their donors’ views and interests. We all know the Dems do the same thing, but that’s not my point. Answer this question and then decide how you feel about this campaign finance business:
If the Republicans took a bunch of money from, say, the AFL-CIO or SEIU and then started voting the way Richard Trumpka would like, would the Democrats be happier? OR, if the GOP asks SEIU for money and SEIU says “NO, because we don’t like the way you vote” is that a scandal? And, if it were to happen, would the Republicans be expected to shut down – surrender and run no campaigns since they’d have no money?
Look, I don’t like Republicans being beholden to donors any more than I like Democrats kowtowing to unions. That is why small government is the solution to everyone’s concerns about campaign finance and the influence of money on government policy. A government that is not in the habit of confiscating money from Peter to pay Paul would make controlling politicians much less desirable for donors of all stripes; it would make for many fewer people trying to be Paul. All that money could be invested in productive ways rather than paying a lawyer to draft arcane language to be buried in the tax code to let someone escape the net of government taxation.
