Who Should be Able to Donate Money to Political Campaigns?

Media Lobbyists Financing Campaigns


Reading this article about lobbyists and super PACs raising money for presidential hopefuls got me thinking about campaign finance reform.  Here is my solution:

1. Only registered voters should be permitted to donate to political campaigns or to spend money advertising on behalf of a candidate or issue.  Corporations, labor unions and professional associations are not registered voters.  Groups like the AFL-CIO, NRA or Planned Parenthood are not voters and should not be allowed to donate money.  Only voters should have the right to donate.  If members of these groups believe strongly enough in a candidate or issue they can write their own check and donate.  This also eliminates the circumstances whereby an idividual member disagrees with the group leadership on issues and candidates and does not want to support them.
2. Some dollar limit should be imposed on individual voters' donations.  We could debate that amount forever.  I suggest $5000 per donor per candidate or issue.  This would eliminate the huge sums of money spent on mudslinging and negative attack ads.  Candidates would be forced to spend their money more wisely and efficiently.
3. Unrelated to campaign finance reform, but campaign reform nonetheless, is the negative advertising.  When I coached youth sports I had a rule for my assistant coaches when dealing with kids.  Before you could criticize a player, you had to compliment him.  I would revise that rule to apply to political campaigns as follows.  Before you attack your opponent, you must tell me something about yourself.  This will force candidates to spend time explaining why they should get your vote, instead of why the other candidate should not.  It will turn the campaign into one of the choice of the better candidate, instead of the lesser of two evils.