The two faces of campaign reform

The most recent effort at campaign finance reform was a farce. It was designed to -- and was -- ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

With the caucus scandals at the forefront, politicians had to have “something” to face the voters with, even if it was later declared unconstitutional. So they designed a system that would fail in the courts after the November elections, and fail it did.

In the coming months you’ll see two distinct reform proposals:

• 45% public financing, 55% private (by Sen. Mike Ellis)
• 100% Clean Money Clean Elections (like those in Maine and Arizona) is currently being drafted by sponsors Rep. Mark Pocan and Sen. Fred Risser.

Our goal is to pass the Clean Money system, or failing that, have a 100% option added to Ellis' bill. Then let the candidates choose, and let the voters decide who or which system they prefer. 

Here is a comparison of the two