Recently in class we've been talking about
elections and campaigning. In last week's episode of Last Week Tonight with
John Oliver, he discusses congressional campaigning, and since it has been
discussed in class, I decided to do a post about the episode. It used to be
common for candidates to let others campaign for them, but that no longer
happens. To gain voters support, candidates have to be more public and
interactive with people, which doesn't always translate to money raised.
Candidates also can't simply ask their wealthy friends to fund their campaigns.
After the 1970 Presidential election, the Federal Election Campaign Act was
passed to limit and regulate contributions to congressional campaigns in the
hopes of increasing voter donation and participation in these campaigns. The
campaign fundraising episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
shows that further campaign finance reforms are needed to make congressional
elections truly fair and democratic.
Early in the episode John Oliver mentions how in
2015, the Federal Election Commission reported that candidates in Congressional
races raised a total of $1.7 billion. He also mentions how The Hill reported
that House members spend anywhere from 25% to 50% of their time campaigning.
Oliver also quotes a former Senate leader who said "A...Senator spends two
thirds of the last two years of their time raising money." Congressional
candidates raise enormous amounts of money for campaigns every year, so how and
why do they do it? The how is simple: phone calls and fundraisers. From what
people have said, making phone calls is horrendous. People have said they sit
in cubicles with headsets on while a minder watches over them to ensure they're
not talking for too long on their calls, and since they're doing this all day
long for months, bad odors naturally collects in the rooms and buildings. It's
disgusting and deeming for the people having to make these phone calls and some
of the people making these phone calls are members of Congress. The episode
shows an interview with Representative Caroline McCarthy and she talks about
how on her first day in Congress, while during a hearing, she was pulled out to
make phone calls to raise money. The reason why members of Congress have to
raise so much money is not just for their own campaigns, but each other’s too.
To pay party dues each candidate is expected to raise anywhere ranging from
$125,000 to $800,000. Members of Congress do things like turn birthday and
anniversary parties into fundraisers and this is part of the reason why voters
feel so disenfranchised today.
If you want raise money easily and quickly you
pander to those with wealth. The episode shows a clip of Senator Chris Murphy
from 2013 talking about contacting people with half a million or a million
dollars for political contributions and this is how parties and candidate
operate to raise money. It distorts their perceptions and behaviors naturally
because they have to meet and appeal to people with fundamentally different
problems than average voters in order to raise money for campaigns. Voters,
volunteers, and even the candidates themselves hate campaign fundraising yet it
has to happen. Recent attempts have been made to reform congressional
campaigning and campaign finance, but since Buckley v. Valeo made money a form
a speech, it has been difficult to pass legislation that could effectively
change the system. The Disclose Act of 2015 would force more transparency on
dark money while the Stop Act would prevent members of Congress from personally
asking for money. These two acts would be helpful in campaign finance reform,
but the Government by the People Act of 2015 would by far have the most
positive ramifications. Though expensive (estimated to cost $500 a year) the
act would match small donations of at least a ratio of 6:1. This would be an
effective way to ensure average people have a fair way to participate in
politics, but as mentioned, the act would be very costly. Govtrack.com even
gave the Government of the People Act a 0% chance of passing which shows that
some campaign finance reforms are futile.
The last part of the episode, John Oliver
interviews retiring House member and Chairman of the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee Steve Israel, The interview exemplifies the fact that the
members of Congress are part of the problem with Congress and the reason why
better, more effective congressional campaign and campaign finance reforms have
not been passed. Steve Israel acknowledges how degrading and filthy the
Congressional Call Center can be and even describes having to make phone calls
to raise money as, "a form of torture." He knows how awful
congressional campaigning can be yet as Chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee he made no attempt to reform the process
within the party. In fact under his leadership as Chairman, the party had
record high political contributions. Steve Israel in the interview talks about
hating congressional campaign, but did it and did it well. John Oliver
mentions, and even mocks, Steve Israel for having fundraisers like breakfast at
the infamous Johnny's Half Shell at 8:30 a.m. and various Long Island wine
themed parties. No matter how much Steve Israel or other members of Congress
bemoan congressional campaigning, they still do it and hardly, if ever, make
attempts to reform campaign finance which just reinforces the American public's
opinion that we don't have a say in our politics and government. The episode of
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on congressional campaigning personifies the
point that rigorous campaign finance reforms need to be passed by Congress to
give Americans a better say in government and politics, but before that can
happen the members of Congress have to change.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylomy1Aw9Hk
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