The political world is revolving at an unusually rapid pace if the drop-out rate for Republican presidential candidates is a true indicator. A Trump victory in Indiana seemed to be too much for the last two Republican contenders and now we can prepare ourselves for the convention phase. It is not likely that Bobby Knight's endorsement of Trump was the key to Trump's victory, but basketball, the University of Indiana and Bobby Knight are on par with politics in the Hoosier State.
We apparently are looking at the political year of "the revolution" led by Trump and Sanders bringing new energy and approaches to campaigning. The manner of financing their campaigns certainly shows a creative approach can work -- be either a self-financed billionaire or a very poor senator who has not used his position to obtain personal wealth, who appeals to the small gift donor.
Maybe the new thinking applied to our two-party system will lead the revolution to a "revelation" in how our governmental process has deteriorated into a pure money game. Honesty on the part of our current elected officials could go a long way to helping people understand we are not a perfect nation and corruption based on purely financial considerations has become the norm. There is a very interesting topic being swept under the rug which apparently affects both parties. It was discussed in a "60 Minutes" segment when the author of the Stop Act was interviewed by correspondent Nora O'Donnell. Back in January, Florida congressman David Jolly proposed the Stop Act, which would ban members of Congress from personally soliciting campaign funds. The "60 Minutes" interview prompted some computer website coverage, but two weeks after the segment was run on television, there seems to be very little follow-up. This, I suppose, should be expected following any exposure of the inner workings of our elected officials.
The Stop Act apparently came into being because Congressman Jolly was informed, in a very informal meeting which was denied by the Republican power base, that he needed to raise $18,000 per day toward re-election. He had won the House seat in a special election in March of 2014 and was up for re-election in November of 2014. He is now running for the Senate to replace Senator Marco Rubio. Rubio, as we know, chose to run for the Republican nomination for president rather than seek re-election to the Senate. Jolly is scheduled to face four Republican candidates for Rubio's seat in the Aug. 30 primary.
What came out in the "60 Minutes" interview goes a long way to confirm what we all know -- the two major political parties are far too powerful and stay in control with money and their support during campaign cycles. By controlling who they support during local elections for seats in Washington, they help keep members of Congress in line and ineffective. It is not news that financial help is available for the appropriate cooperative party candidate. It does cost money to run an effective, winning campaign even for local a county office, much less a state-wide senatorial campaign or a cistrict-wide House seat.
Representative Jolly reports that the Republican Party (and probably Democratic Party also) maintains a "call center" within walking distance of the government office. Use of their own office to solicit funds would be illegal, so the party makes the "call center" easily available. The expectation is a loyal party supported elected member will spend 20 to 30 hours per week soliciting campaign funds for the party and themselves.
It is hard to know if Congressman Jolly will benefit from his disclosure to "60 Minutes" or be penalized by the Republican establishment. Some sources say he did it for publicity and hopes to gain voter approval by his honesty. Whatever the reason, we as the voters need to know the truth about the goals and secretive methods of the political parties.
Money, money, money and what it can buy or influence seems far more important to the parties than the character of our government. In school we were taught to believe in our political parties' principles. Many people devote their lives to the parties' work. Have the parties lost sight of the goals we have worked to protect ?
It would appear we can send serious, dedicated conscientious people to Washington, only to have them compromise their principles to assure themselves a place in the system.
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. A native of Benton County, he is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Editorial on 05/18/2016