John Laesch: "Blagojevich arrest offers opportunity for change" -- toward meaningful campaign finance reform

"When elected officials and candidates spend a majority of their time talking to wealthy campaign donors, they are not listening to voters. When politicians are too busy fundraising, they are not reading bills before voting and they are not writing legislation to fix the economy. . . .

"Every candidate complains about the legal pay-to-play system, but few have ever had enough courage to make a serious effort at fixing it. Well, I can't think of a better time in Illinois' history for elected officials to stand up and fight for campaign finance reform. I challenge any political figure, Democrat or Republican, to present and fight for meaningful campaign finance reform legislation. Now is the time to lead."

-- former IL-14 congressional candidate John Laesch

There are a whole bunch of reasons why it's a shame that voters in IL-14 failed to send one of DWT's and Blue America's favorite candidates, John Laesch, to Congress. Not least is John's understanding of the culture of corruption, of which Republicans have become such masters, while too many Democrats have been trying to close the gap. We're happy to present this guest editorial, which John wrote for his hometown paper, Northern Illinois's Beacon News. -- Ken


Blagojevich arrest offers opportunity for change

by John Laesch

I was not surprised when I first learned that Governor Blagojevich had been arrested on Tuesday morning. From Abraham Lincoln to Paul Simon to Barack Obama, Illinois has produced some of America's greatest political leaders. Sadly, we have also produced too many of the type of Dan Rostenkowski, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.

While we have seen the best and worst that Illinois has to offer politically in less than a month, I feel that the Blagojevich indictment presents one of the best opportunities we have seen for some time to fundamentally change our political system for the better.

The problem is not the Republican Party or the Democratic Party per se, but, instead, a political system that demands non-stop fundraising or ultra-rich candidates like Jim Oberweis and Bill Foster. When elected officials and candidates spend a majority of their time talking to wealthy campaign donors, they are not listening to voters. When politicians are too busy fundraising, they are not reading bills before voting and they are not writing legislation to fix the economy.

This is why Wall Street can pick up the phone and ask members from either party to support a $700 billion bailout package while election year promises go unanswered. Believe me, Wall Street paid dearly for the bailout, but those contributions were perfectly legal.

If you ask me, there is very little difference between a $10,000 legal contribution made to a member of Congress from an influential bank and the illegal fundraising schemes that Governor Blagojevich instituted.

Every candidate complains about the legal pay-to-play system, but few have ever had enough courage to make a serious effort at fixing it. Well, I can't think of a better time in Illinois' history for elected officials to stand up and fight for campaign finance reform. I challenge any political figure, Democrat or Republican, to present and fight for meaningful campaign finance reform legislation. Now is the time to lead.

If Blagojevich has the good sense to step down and Lt. Governor Pat Quinn becomes governor, we can turn our attention to the probable special election to replace Barack Obama. And, while Senator Durbin, Obama and Quinn are all calling for a special election, I think it is important to note that about a week ago, I heard Durbin on the radio listing off his requirements for the next U.S. senator. To no surprise, being "a good fundraiser" was first on the list.

I remember conversations that I had with political insiders back when Rod Blagojevich was first running for governor. The former chairman of the Democratic Chairman's Association told me that he had backed Rod Blagojevich because Rod had proven to be a strong fundraiser; the same fund-raising skills that landed Blagojevich in jail.

So, while the Democratic establishment in Illinois is likely to support the "good fundraiser" for a special election, I will be supporting the most honest, ethical person in the field who is committed to real campaign finance reform. I want my democracy back.

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