Campaign Finance Reform--a Modest Proposal

DarthDoyle, who will shortly be signing State of Wisconsin checks to kill off embryos, now proposes "campaign finance reform."

Since Darth managed to submit his finance reports in a non-standard format, it was very difficult for reporters (and other interested parties) to figure out exactly who was sending all that money to Darth.

But not to worry. Darth to the Rescue!!

Doyle told reporters Tuesday that he will include money for some type of public fund to help pay for elections in the 2007-'09 budget he will give the Legislature in January. Doyle said one of the changes he wants to sign into law would require independent groups that run ads mentioning candidates in the final weeks of the election to register with the state Elections Board, name their largest contributors and abide by donation limits in Wisconsin law.

Let's make this simple, Darth.

We need is contemporaneous, on-line reporting of ALL gifts to ALL candidates --names, addresses, amounts. That way, the donations you got from the individuals who want your attention would be instantly visible.

We also need and want contemporaneous on-line directories of officers, directors, and donors for ALL organizations which contribute to candidates. ALL of them--in-State and out-of-State, unions, tribes, ...all of them...

The rest will be irrelevant. We don't need "limits." Why? If we know who's buying which candidate, we know what to do about it.

(HT: Jessica, JS All Politics Blog)