Daily Times

Winston Churchill said, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

” The leaked DNC emails shed light on some sausage making going on in campaigns. But is anyone surprised that fame, wealth or influence gets you access to top officials? The Obamas are much more likely to give an interview to USA TODAY than the Billings Gazette. Money and influence are never going to disappear from campaigns, and shouldn’t. Even if people couldn’t give to campaigns, big employers, big labor, celebrities and big media would all gain influence. Those with money would just find another way to influence government. They might instead look to buy media outlets, which are exempt from all campaign speech laws. Indeed, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos already bought The Washington Post. As Churchill was trying to tell us, the alternatives are often worse. For example, some have expressed valid concerns about foreigners influencing our campaigns. There are indications the DNC emails may have been stolen by Russians. The Russians may well want to use them to influence the presidential race. But would that justify a ban on news coverage of emails hacked by other nations? Of course not. Likewise, many of the cures touted for money in politics would restrict campaign speech by citizens. Yet none of the emails currently causing controversy implicates independent campaign speech. Hypocritically, the DNC platform calls for restricting citizen groups from participating in campaigns. This would do more than just harm our vital First Amendment rights. It would go against the American way. And it would protect the corrupt because it would limit speech about candidates. Instead of more regulation, we need to make it easier for average Americans to speak and participate in politics. There’s no law that will turn corrupt politicians into responsible public servants. That’s why we have elections. Freer campaigns would give challengers, new ideas and new candidates a fighting chance to create real change.