Democracy is getting more expensive for Connecticut taxpayers.
The state is expected to shell out $33 million in public campaign funds for the 2014 election season, a record amount of money to help political candidates spread their message to the electorate.
Is it worth it?
At a time when Connecticut faces significant budget issues, it’s tempting to call on government to rein in spending on political campaigns. That temptation grows even larger when you look at the ultra-negative TV ads that have dominated the airwaves in recent months. Knowing that taxpayer money contributed to many of the half-truth commercials peddled by politicians is frustrating, even downright offensive.
Yet, the notion of public campaign financing is grounded in democratic principles, and it’s a system that should be preserved, even if it is a drain on taxpayers’ pocketbooks.
Complaints about big money interests controlling the country’s political apparatus have ratcheted up in recent years, particularly after the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which overturned the Watergate-era limit on campaign contributions from wealthy donors.
Now, we don’t have a problem with people digging into their life savings to stake political campaigns or causes, but the ability to run for office shouldn’t be restricted to only the wealthiest Americans. Good ideas aren’t circumscribed to the millionaire-and-billionaire classes.
That’s where Connecticut’s public campaign financing law carries its weight. The program’s strict qualifying restrictions give legitimate candidates with at least a small following the ability to run for office, even if they don’t have the financial wherewithal to self-fund their campaigns. That only helps grow the marketplace of ideas, and Connecticut needs all the critical thinking it can muster to tackle the myriad of issues the state faces.
This year, nearly 290 different candidates running for office in Connecticut — Democrats and Republicans alike — have been approved for campaign financing grants, according to the Hartford Courant. They’ll collectively rake in about $33 million, which is up from a previous record high of $29 million, set in 2010.
Gubernatorial candidates Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Tom Foley are the breadwinners, each earning more than $6.5 million in state funds to spend on their respective general election campaigns.
Some may argue that state government shouldn’t be in the business of funding political campaigns. That’s certainly a reasonable stance. The system isn’t perfect, and there is still plenty of outside money being spent on Connecticut races this year. It is also irritating to think that taxpayers are footing the bill for a political ad war that does little to inform voters on the real issues.
However, any efforts to curb special interest groups (and money) from dominating the electoral process is a good thing. The campaign finance law, after all, was created in 2005 in the wake of former Gov. John Rowland’s federal criminal conviction on corruption charges — a case that demonstrated the ills that power, money, and influence can have on government officials.
At a time when it is less and less appealing to run for political office, public campaign financing offers a carrot for a broader range of candidates to throw their hats in the ring.
In the long-run, that should strengthen the democratic process.
