Why a New Paradigm?

Abstract

Do we really need a new type of campaign finance reform? Fred Wertheimer and Alexandra Edsall say no. They think we would do just fine if we continued under the regime created by the Supreme Court of the United States in Buckley v. Valeo, if the Federal Elections Commission found the political gumption to enforce the recent McCain-Feingold statute, and if we increased the ratio of public matching funds for campaigns. We disagree. Expanding and enforcing the old paradigm is a fool's errand. Even if current laws were scrupulously enforced, private money from the richest one percent will continue to be the dominant force in politics. The current system simply has no chance of insulating the political sphere from the economic inequalities generated by the free market.