We have been trying to keep track of all the lessons we have learned about campaign finance reform. Let’s see, first there is the lesson that Ronald Reagan and Edward Kennedy are now learning, namely that you can afford to run for the White House only if you happen to live there already. If you live elsewhere, which is of course a possibility, there is a federal law which proscribes you from running a campaign comparable in scope and expense to the incumbent’s.
Then there is the lesson that businessmen have learned these past few months, which is that they cannot employ their wealth in supporting candidates of their choice. That is the law. The only serious, one-stop money in politics today comes from rock stars, who can donate their services, which in turn attract small contributors in mass numbers. In this way, the presumptive influence of the big giver is stripped from Clement Stone and is given to Gregg Allman. Another triumph for democracy.
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