Guest Column: Gary Trauner

Trauner: In Politics, It’s Money That Matters

By Gary Trauner, 4-25-07

“Once you get to DC, you’ll be like everyone else.  You’ll care more about the money then representing me.” Those words from a businessman in Casper were hurtful to someone who prides himself on his honesty and integrity. Yet they were pretty typical of my discussions around Wyoming, and a sad indication of the current state of our politics and the supposed “leaders” we have elected to office.

It seems as if everyone complains about the impact of money on public policy, but few are willing to think about what we need to do to truly fix a system that most people know deep down has been corrupted from the founding father’s original intent.

The simple truth is we have an electoral system where money creates, at the very least, the perception of corruption; where the integrity, and actions, of any representative can be questioned based on who makes large donations to their campaign.  Even more sadly, many of our elected officials are so influenced by the money they need to continually raise that they make the words of that Casper businessman ring true.

We can nibble around the edges all we want – banning $50 lunches, corporate jet travel and golf trips abroad - but the real answer is to remove big money influence through public financing of campaigns and opening the public airwaves to candidates. 

For many who oppose public financing, the main argument is that it would increase government spending.  However, I think we would actually reduce spending and taxes if we had the courage and foresight to remove special interest money from the system.  Just look at the Medicare Part D bill, a spending boondoggle that put the interest of insurance companies and drug companies in front of our senior citizens and federal budget.  Or let’s look at the most recent energy bill, where fiscal responsibility took a back seat to billions of dollars of giveaways to the most profitable companies in the history of civilization.  These bills were made possible by huge donations from special interests.  Without having to cater to these groups, lawmakers could actually pass laws that focus on fiscal responsibility and helping people instead of breaking the bank.  Spending less than an additional $800 million per election cycle might save us from shelling out billions and billions in recurring pork and special interest projects every year.

Previous Congresses have essentially legalized corruption through the influence of money and lobbyists.  From 2000 to 2006, the number of registered federal lobbyists rose from around 9,000 to nearly 30,000. Lobbyists actually wrote laws.  Only drastic action will stop the culture of greed and you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours that exists in our government today.

Several states (Maine and Arizona are two examples) have successfully implemented campaign finance reform with “clean election” laws that are easy to put in place and seem to be working.  These laws are designed to remove corrupting influences while providing citizens who are not independently wealthy the chance to run for office.

I spent a fair amount of time last campaign raising money because it is the ONLY way to have the resources one needs to get elected – and to put it bluntly, not only is it a pain in the butt, it’s wrong.  And members of Congress know its wrong, yet they can’t bring themselves to do anything about it.

While visiting Washington during the campaign, I needed to make a phone call at party headquarters.  The Congressman who was showing me around hesitated and then directed me to a room full of cubbies – each equipped with a desk and a phone.  Turns out, this is the “call center” where members of Congress can spend up to ½ their working day on party mandated “call time”, or in political speak, “dialing for dollars.” All congressmen do this and they hate it.  After emerging from the call center, this Congressman looked at me and said, only half-joking, “I didn’t want to let you see that room – I thought you might change your mind about running.”

At the risk of being repetitive, the system is broken.  “We, the People” have become cynical and skeptical about our elected officials. And the main reason is their pursuit of money.  Band-aids will not stop the bleeding.  Only true structural reform, through a system that stops the financial arms race and levels the playing field, will return our government back to all the people and not just those with the means and the money.

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