public funding

Some times, you really have to wonder why politicians don't learn from the past. This week, Pete Hoekstra did the inexplicable: he declared that he would take public funding in the race for Michigan Governor.

Now Michigan has a 2-1 match. That is, for every dollar he raises, he gets 2 from the taxpayer. In exchange, he gets a cap on total spending. I have several thoughts on this:

First, John McCain tried this. He lost. And he lost for a reason. If you can't build the grassroots army to fund your campaign, you probably can't win.

Second, this funding only applies to the primary. He will need to raise huge resources for the general too. This hampers your ability to win the general because you haven't built your finance organization. And if he uses this in the general, then he could be at a real disadvantage.

Third, Hoekstra was really outspoken about campaign finance. He repeatedly criticized campaign finance bills throughout his career in the House. This displays a certain lack of principle...

Fourth, will struggling Michigan voters -- recall that this is the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country -- really want their taxes going to welfare for politicians?

The day of reckoning is here for candidates and four ballot measures in the Last Frontier. Polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM local (11 AM to 12 AM EST). The first results come in at 9 PM local (1 AM EST) ... you bet I'm staying up for this one. I might even nap through dinner time and get up to catch Hillary's speech beforehand.

Here's a summary of the races to watch ... I won't be endorsing candidates, but I will speak out against three of the initiatives. If you want to see a smattering of Alaskan ads, here they are.

U.S. Senate - Republican Primary: With a trial coming up in late September, Ted Stevens is still the favorite in this primary among six other candidates. Former legislator and bank president David Cuddy, who ran against Stevens in 1996, has been seen as the alternative; but his campaign has been quite unexciting. Vic Vickers moved up from Florida and claimed residency starting this January and started running anti-corruption ads; rumor has it that he was a Democrat plant. Think what you may of him, but after the indictment, Stevens came out swinging and the amount of positive response to Ted was nothing short of amazing.

U.S. Senate - Democratic Primary: Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich will run away with this one, but not without getting bruised by former GOP legislator, Alaska Republican Moderate Party leader and now registered Democrat Ray Metcalfe who has been exposing Begich's ties with local real estate developers.

Congress At-Large - Republican Primary: This is the race to watch! Lt. Governor Sean Parnell had been the early favorite, but Kodiak State Rep. Gabrielle Ledoux has run three admittedly good ads which put her from 1% to 10% of the vote in the latest polls. It might be because of that that Don Young and Sean Parnell are within the margin of error. While Sean has received the endorsement of Gov. Sarah Palin, I tend not to put a lot of stock into any endorsement, no matter how popular the endorser. Plus, I'm actually more impressed with Don's ads than I am with Sean's. The Anchorage Daily News' gossip column called Don vs. Sean "Mr. Bluster vs. Mr. Bland."

Congress At-Large - Democratic Primary: This pits establishment candidate Ethan Berkowitz against Diane Benson, who received 40% of the vote against Don Young two years ago. Berkowitz was minority leader for many years in the State House, and ran for Governor two years ago before dropping down before the filing deadline to be Tony Knowles' lite gov candidate. Haven't seen any polling, but Berkowitz seems to be the favorite. I won't be surprised if Benson keeps it close.

In response to convictions of former state legislators in Alaska, liberal organizations and labor unions have placed the "Clean Elections Act," Ballot Initiative #3, on the August 26th primary ballot, which would institute public funding for legislative campaigns. Taxpayers in Maine and Arizona, states which have recently approved public financing, are learning that their money, which could be going towards legitimate government priorities like infrastructure improvement and education, are instead financing partisan politics.

Public financing actually decreases competitiveness in elections, which decreases choice for voters in a democracy. Incumbents in Arizona were re-elected at a higher rate after public financing was enacted; the number of candidates fell from 247 to 195 according to the Goldwater Institute. Furthermore, public financing limits a challenger’s ability to communicate with voters. By limiting the amount of money that can be spent in campaigns, it limits the amount of information that voters receive.

Voters in Oregon have a chance to prohibit public financing in November. Ballot Measure #25 would ban the use of public resources for political campaigns. Bill Sizemore, the initiative’s sponsor, tried twice to pass similar measures within the last decade, only to be defeated by labor union money.

If voters want tackle corruption in government, they should look at South Dakota's Open and Clean Government Act, Initiated Measure #10. It would not only prohibit taxpayer funded campaigns and lobbying. It would also create "information on state contracts that would be available for review on a searchable website."

BOTTOM LINE: When it comes to solving corruption and lack of ethics in government, public financing of campaigns is the wrong answer; instead, the conservative movement should support policies that increase transparency in campaigns and in government.

You have to give the Obama campaign points for hutzpah. Granted Obama's decision to bypass public financing after he signed a pledge to take it is probably smart politics. However, his web site is now marketting that broken promise as a declaration of, "Independence from a broken system". I suppose stating 'I lied, but please send me money anyways' would not be that effective a fundraiser, but it certainly would be more honest than pretending that this was some sort of noble decision. Referencing the Declaration of Independence to cover up this old school political maneuver is clever and shady.

Graphic on entry page at BarackObama.com

Yesterday, Talking Points Memo posted this exclusive regarding MoveOn.org:

MoveOn, the advocacy group supporting Barack Obama, has decided to permanently shutter its 527 operation, partly in response to the Illinois Senator's insistence that such groups should not spend on his behalf during the general election, I've learned from the group's spokesperson.

MoveOn's decision, which will dramatically impact the way it raises money on Obama's behalf, is yet another sign of how rapidly Obama is taking control of the apparatus that's gearing up on his behalf.

By shuttering its 527, MoveOn is effectively killing its ability to raise money in huge chunks from labor unions, foundations, and big donors who would give over $5,000. The decision doesn't mean MoveOn will stop spending on Obama's behalf. Instead it will raise money exclusively with its political action committee, whose average donation is below $50 and will even be raising money with things like bake sales starting this weekend.

To put this in perspective, MoveOn's 527 raised $20 million for the general election in 2004 -- and at least half of that came from donations over $5,000.

"This is an affirmation that we, like Senator Obama, believe that this election can be won by ordinary Americans giving small donations," MoveOn spokesperson Ilyse Hogue told me.

MoveOn's 527 has been dormant since 2005, but the group had held open the option of starting it up it for the 2008 election -- until Obama's success with small donors showed that huge sums could be raised without it.

The move could also make it tougher politically for John McCain and the GOP to benefit from 527s, which can raise money in unlimited sums, on his side. While he has generally disapproved of such activity, he recently said that he couldn't control negative ads by such groups.

"The hope is that Republicans will match this, so that the voices of ordinary Americans can drive this election," Hogue said.

Late Update: It should be noted that the group has not traditionally been driven by large donations during non-presidential race times. It has raised $122 million since it opened in 1998 -- and only 10% came in donations of over $5000. But during the 2004 race, of course, it was another story.

In a post published on Real Clear Politics today titled How to Hit Obama, Robert Novak wrote

Leaders of Sen. John McCain's campaign are looking toward "527s" as their principal means of attacking Sen. Barack Obama because they have been given a green light by McCain.

Are things about to get interesting?  Now if only we could add that voters for John McCain could look forward to drilling for oil in ANWR because they have been given a green light by McCain...