I hosted a MoveOn agenda party yesterday, and one of the very popular ideas was to have a national system of public campaign finance similar to Arizona’s own Clean Elections (which just got a new directer in Eric Ehst, a long-time grassroots political organizer and consultant who is definitely on the people’s side). What most people, even most Democrats, seem to be unaware of is that our own Rep. Grijalva co-sponsored federal clean elections legislation last year.
The bill is HR 3099 and it was introduced in the middle of last year. Of course, it remains languishing in three committees. The ambitious legislation seeks to adopt a program of voluntary publically funded campaigns for federal offices, but it goes beyond the Arizona model by providing for free and reduced rate air-time and limiting the franking priviledge of incumbent Congress members near primaries and general elections.
This is just one example that the Democratic party has LOTS of great ideas, and the political will to carry them forward, and in many case the enabling legislation is already in the can. All we need is the power, and we can deliver for the people as this GOP Congress had utterly failed to do. Both major parties have lots of ideas, but Democrats are the party with most of the good ones.
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