What do elected officials think about the role of money in politics?

Many politicians are frustrated by the current system of campaign finance. It means that they have to beg rich individuals and big special interests for money all the time. The focus on fundraising not only makes politicians look corrupt and greedy in the eyes of the public. It also prevents the best of our elected officials from creating good and thoughtful laws and social policies. In their single-minded zeal to raise the huge sums needed for their next race, politicians have given up talking to ordinary Americans, running old-fashioned door-to-door campaigns, and learning of the concerns and ideas of the people they represent.

This is why so many politicians are fed up with the dominant role of private money in politics. Perhaps the best-know critique is that of a deeply conservative Senator, the late Barry Goldwater (R-AZ):

“Senators and representatives, faced incessantly with the need to raise ever more funds to fuel their campaigns, can scarcely avoid weighing every decision against the questions, ‘How will this influence my fundraising?’ rather than ‘How will this influence national interest?”

Here is how these elected officials feel about the role of money in politics.

“You get invited to a dinner somewhere and someone gives you some money. And then you get a call a month later and he wants to see you. Are you going to say no? . . . You’re not going to say no. So it does buy access.”

Rep. Peter Kostmayer (D-Pennsylvania)

“I have on many occasions sat down and listened to people solely because I know they had contributed to my campaign.”

Rep. Jim Bacchus (D-Florida)

“I can tell you that people who make campaign contributions certainly do get appointments.”

Rep. Dennis Eckart (D-Ohio)

“The brutal fact that we all agonize over is that if you get two calls and one is from a constituent who wants to complain about the Veterans Administration mistreating her father, for the 10th time, and one is from somebody who is going to give you a party and raise $10,000, you call back the contributor.”

Sen. Wyche Fowler (D-Georgia)

“People who contribute get the ear of the member and the ear of the staff. They have the access – and access is it. Access is power. Access is clout. That’s how this thing works.”

Rep. Romano Mazzoli (D-Kentucky)

“I do believe that our system of campaign financing has a dramatic impact on the institution. It perpetuates incumbents in power. It is much easier for incumbents to raise money than for a challenger.”

Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (R-Michigan)

“There’s not tit for tat in this business, no check for a vote. But nonetheless, the influence is there. Candidates know where their money is coming from.”

Rep. Tim Penny (D-Minnesota)

“I look at a contribution as a “thank you” for a position I took, not as expecting that I would take a position in the future. I think that’s a difference and very appropriate . . . I always thought of it as a reward, not a bribe . . .”

Rep. Hamilton Fish (R-New York)

“I have to call people and ask them for money. Then I have to call them and ask them again. Then I have to call them one more time.”

Rep. James Bacchus (D-Florida)

“On the tax side, the appropriations side, the subsidy side, and the expenditure side, decisions are clearly weighted and influenced . . . by who has contributed to the candidates. The price that the public pays for this process, whether it’s in subsidies, taxes, or appropriations, is quite high.”

Rep. Mel Levine (D-California)

“The completely frank and honest answer is that the method of campaign funding that we currently have?has a serious and profound impact on not only the issues that are considered in Congress, but also on the outcome of those issues.”

Rep. Eric Fingerhut (D-OH)

“The last people who should be making decisions on campaign finance reform are the people whose individual personal self-interest depends on campaign finance. That is all of us in this House.”

Rep. Rick White (R-WA)

“The pay-off may be as obvious and overt as a floor vote in favor of the contributor’s desired tax loophole or appropriation. Or it may be subtle?a floor speech not offered?a bill pigeonholed in subcommittee?an amendment not offered. Or the payment can come in a private conversation with four or five key colleagues in the privacy of the cloak room.”

Senator William Proxmire (D-WI)

“Congressman, just follow the money. You will know why we do not trust you.”

Rep Glen Poshard (D-IL),

(Quoting what a group of students replied when he asked them why they do not trust their government.)

Source: Speaking Freely. The Center for Responsive Politics.