Getting the Money Out of Politics

NJ Conservative got me thinking about this with an interesting item on States Rights.

Much has been said in the last 30 years or so about getting "the money" out of politics, but it always seems to find its way into politicians' hands anyway.

A big contributor to the large cash flow in politics is the cost of campaigning. Take a look at the top 10 Senate races from 2004, for example (via Open Secrets):

Raised 1. South Dakota Senate $37,351,597 2. New York Senate $28,878,286 3. North Carolina Senate $24,706,179 4. Pennsylvania Senate $24,701,185 5. California Senate $24,238,862 6. Florida Senate $23,840,404 7. Washington Senate $21,033,746 8. Illinois Senate $17,769,062 9. Colorado Senate $17,568,617 10. Wisconsin Senate $16,511,331

Spent 1. South Dakota Senate $36,005,713 2. Pennsylvania Senate $26,797,959 3. North Carolina Senate $26,254,363 4. Florida Senate $23,646,435 5. California Senate $23,571,101 6. Washington Senate $20,206,266 7. New York Senate $18,511,478 8. Colorado Senate $17,508,806 9. Illinois Senate $17,035,935 10. Wisconsin Senate $16,761,751

That's almost $237 million dollars raised for just 10 races, the equivalent of over 20,000 minimum wage jobs.

There is a quick, easy, and simple solution that would completely eliminate the need for senatorial candidates to raise money like this, thereby fulfilling the wildest dreams of all the campaign finance reformers of the world. This solution would also realize the intent of our founding fathers, restoring power over the federal government to the states where it properly resides.

Repeal the 17th amendment, and restore the appointment of senators by the states. Senators should represent their states, and not be subject to the tides of public opinion like their counterparts in the House. Our federal government has been unbalanced for nearly a hundred years, and must be restored to its proper form.