
Beating the evil out of political fund raising.
Most of us are confounded by the teenage drug user who cuts herself to ‘let the demons out’.
Likewise we should be equally disturbed by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson’s recent sit-down with the Sacramento Bee during which he pronounced his intention to sponsor legislation that would ban fund raising at certain times of the year.
There are so many things wrong with this idea.
For one it raises the question: What is fund raising? Is a reception where people come and bring checks? Is it going to your fund raiser’s office, sitting down and making phone calls? Is it speaking to a constituent in the district at a chamber of commerce mixer and accepting an envelop with a check from an event you had several weeks before? Perhaps its all of them. I wonder if a legislator has a campaign strategy session with key supporters and business leaders during this ‘black-out’ period, would he or she be banned from mentioning the fact that they need to raise $300,000 before the Primary Election?