The best proposal to reform government and reduce the power of corporate lobbyists since the downfall of Jack Abramoff was introduced today by a bi-partisan group of initial sponsors:
Public funding of House and Senate elections -- aka "clean campaigns."
The Senate legislation, the Fair Elections Now Act, was introduced by Senators Dick Durbin, D-IL, and Arlen Specter, R-PA.
The House bill, known as the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act, was introduced by Rep. John Tierney, D-MA.
The bills are modeled after the Fair Elections-type systems that have already been successfully implemented at the state and local levels in places like Arizona and Maine.
If passed, a Clean Elections law would help candidates run for office without being dependent on corporations or wealthy donors. It would also give ordinary people a shot at running competitive campaigns -- and winning.
These bills are supported by a wide range of organizations, including Public Campaign. But all of us have a stake in getting them passed.
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