Campaign finance reform is coming to the floor of the Congress. Americans support campaign reform for good reason. They know that a 98.5 percent re-election rate and continued arrogance in Washington is unhealthy for our country.
But also for good reason, Americans have no faith that career politicians will reform the system. Career politicians won’t give their challengers an honest shot. The problems with the most talked about proposal, the Shays-Meehan bill, are many. The bill helps incumbents, hurts challengers and tries to muzzle what independent groups can say about congressmen. But the biggest problem is one of the sponsors: Congressman Marty Meehan of Massachusetts.
Meehan has broken his word to the voters that he would term-limit himself to 8 years. His lack of integrity casts a shadow on everything he does. At the highest levels of Common Cause, a group pushing the Shays-Meehan bill, there is serious dread regarding Meehan. Talk show host and high-profile Democrat Arnie Arnesen says:
“This is what ticks me off, because I have to stand there and applaud him on campaign finance reform as he’s lying . . . that makes me into a hypocrite. . . . We cannot support something that Marty Meehan stands for. Because if he’s lying about [term limits], why won’t he be lying about campaign finance reform?”
Americans are rightfully skeptical of politicians who pretend they’ll reform a system they benefit from. In Marty Meehan’s case, there’s no question he cannot be trusted.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.