Opinions from around the country

In America, the ability to vote is our most valued democratic tradition. Unfortunately, one reason many people don’t even bother to register to vote is because they are afraid their votes won’t count for anything; that one vote is only a “drop in the bucket.”

It would be nice to say that this isn’t true, but it’s hard to do so when soft money plays such a huge part in the political system we now have.

Soft money is the worst kind of money in politics. Individuals, special interest groups, even corporations are allowed to give enormous, unregulated amounts of money to political parties. In a way, soft money has become the game that runs politics; that works as the puppeteer behind the countless political conventions and mud-slinging advertising campaigns.

Proponents of soft money claim that it is protected by the First Amendment. That donating money to a certain political party is an example of exercising one’s right to free speech. But this certainly isn’t something the framers of the constitution intended to protect as free speech.

Fortunately, a bill has recently been introduced to the House which could quite likely curb soft money and loosen the hold corporations have on politicians. The bill would ban unlimited donations and keep the government from being run by those with the most money.

Congress should pass the Shays-Meehan Bill, and the president should sign it. If there is a limit on how much money a political party can accept from a certain corporation, our government will no longer be controlled by advertisers and large businesses. Parties will then spend more time on grassroots organizing, and will be able to reconnect with people loosing sight of their political affiliations.

In effect, government will once more be about the people who make it up, and not the few who possess the most dollars.

Passing the Shays-Meehan Bill will send a powerful message to Americans who are quickly becoming jaded by the government’s willingness to be bought by large corporations, especially in the wake of the recent Enron scandal.

By enforcing this bill, the government will be telling people that it cares about them, and not about whoever has the biggest wallet.

This editorial comes from the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University.
This column was distributed by U-Wire.

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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002