Voting the bums out? Not really.

I just got this from the National Institute on Money in State Politics website:

Despite the anti-incumbency rhetoric around the 2010 elections, 98% of incumbents won their primaries, a figure unchanged from the last five elections.

Hmmmm. So much for new blood.

I’ve never really been able to get behind a ‘vote all the bums out’ movement. It seemed kind of … stupid. Vote out good ones, bad ones, which ones? All of them?  However, I do support term limits and draconian campaign finance reform - all campaigns publicly financed. No contributers ever. Not so much as a tainted dollar.

When our legislators are truly citizen legislators, beholden to no special interests - then perhaps, we could get rid of every lobbyist on K Street. Then we’d have a responsive, effective government of the people and not multi-national corporatrions.

The military-industrial complex would hate it.

I encourage folks that want to take an active, participatory part in their democracy to sign up at the National Institute on Money in State Politics (sheesh. They need an acronym or something!) and noodle around. It’s very enlightening.

-maven

Follow the money: Who's paying for your legislators?

The phone rang early this morning, and it was early riser, Bob Fulkerson from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN). Lucky for him, I’d already had a cuppa. He wanted me to noodle around in a cool website and dig up which mining companies might have been contributing to some folks down in Carson City. Yup, that got me wide awake.

“Yaoza, Bob! Of course, I can do that.”

I’m makin’ a list and checkin’ it twice - gonna find out who’s been naughty and nice …

If you are of the research mind, and like to fiddle around with interesting statistical information, this website is for you! The only question you have to ask is “how deep do you want to drill?”

Even more revealing was another little task I was given which involved going onto the Nevada Secretary of State’s website, to look up Contributions & Expenses reports for various candidates.

I don’t know how it could be much more obvious that the future of American democracy depends on the passage of robust, no prisoners taken, campaign finance reform. Each and every qualified candidate should be publically financed, and not be allowed to accept one damn dime from anybody, anytime, for any reason.

These statements are filled with shadowy organizations - the Republican Leadership Council, the Citizens for Really Neat-O Government or … whatever. The point being that you don’t know who’s really behind them. Hosni Mubarak could be a contributor and nobody would be the wiser. That ain’t ‘free speech’. That’s bullshit.

Take a look for yourself.

click on the image to redirectWell, that’s enough fun for one day.

- willing tool of the Lefty Liberal Leftists, Maven