As though there aren't already enough reasons to end the obscenity that is the campaign contributions of our election and government system--a lot I've written of here--yet more:
Members of Congress spend much of their careers chasing campaign cash and struggling to boost their war chests to fight off the next rival. When their careers are over, and there are no more rivals, many quickly dispose of what little cash is left by donating it to charity, returning it to donors or transferring it to party committees.
But not all. An increasing number find themselves sitting on flush bank accounts.
A Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows that the number of former members of Congress who have campaign committees holding more than $100,000 has dramatically increased. In the 1998 election cycle, there were just 18 former members with war chests of that size. The number rose and fell slightly over the years until 2010, when there were 21. By 2012 there were 37. Now, the campaign accounts of 52 ex-lawmakers hold more than $100,000 in cash -- and eight have more than $1,000,000.
For some, this creates an opportunity to continue to play a role in politics or to support politicians they like. But several told OpenSecrets.org that with so many charities and politicians asking for a cut of the action, having a lot of leftover campaign cash becomes something of a burden.
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We need to stop this nonsense.
We need to demand an end to campaign contributions in our elections so we can get our government back.
For the people.
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