(08-30-2023, 03:03 PM)NYC4jags Wrote:

(08-30-2023, 02:34 PM)mikesez Wrote: Money has never failed to find its way to politicians and their campaigns.  If that's the reason for the mess, then we were never not in a mess, and we will never be out of one.

It's really simple.

It costs a lot of money to run a successful campaign of deceitful propaganda. 
In that regard - yes - we've always been in a mess. 

I am in favor of making it harder for candidates to achieve misleading the American public through disinformation. 
You are fine with it, apparently.

I am aware that campaigning is very expensive.  
But it's just as expensive to run a very honest, very positive campaign as it is to run a very deceitful very negative one.  The best case scenario is we have two candidates who are being as positive and honest as possible, but, if one fails to raise and spend enough money to get enough name recognition and credibility, that candidate will lose.

That said, I do believe we can slow down and reduce the flow of money to candidates.  It's not a bad idea to have spending limits and disclosure requirements.  But attempts to go beyond that probably will be unenforceable. And it will never be the magic bullet to clean things up, so to speak.

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