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David Bonior was a distinguished Congressman who represented Macomb County in Washington for more than a quarter of a century, and rose to become House Majority Whip.
He told me once that after he was first elected in a close race in 1976, he was horrified to learn that his campaign had spent $36,000. Now that’s about $160,000 in today’s money. But that wouldn’t even get you a nomination for a legislative seat in 2020.
You can spend ten million dollars to win a swing congressional seat these days – and then have to raise that money again every two years until they beat you or you get sick of it. A couple years ago, I heard from a brilliant young woman who worked for the Kresge Foundation in Troy.
She had a doctorate, was an expert in economics and had worked abroad, was married and had a young son. She wanted to make a difference in this state, and wanted to know if I thought it would be a good idea to run for an open seat in the Michigan Legislature.
Two things were instantly clear to me. One was that she had superb credentials and would have vastly enriched the caliber of that body. The other was that she hadn’t any idea what she was up against. So I asked her, “Do you have three hundred thousand dollars to spend?”
She looked at me like I was nuts. “That’s the minimum you’d need to have a chance in that district, more if you have a hotly contested primary, which I think you will.”
Not surprisingly, she decided not to run. There’s something wrong with this picture. What we are moving towards is a legislature that consists of people with a lot of special interest money or a big political machine behind them, and a disproportionate share of retirees.
There’s nothing we can do quickly about the Citizens’ United decision. We’d need another Supreme Court decision reversing it, which is unlikely in our lifetimes, or an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would be an immensely difficult task.
However, what we can do at least is find out where the money behind these candidates is coming from, so that we know, to be blunt, who owns those who would lead us. The Michigan Campaign Finance network is doing a superb job of that – you can see their work at MCFN.org.
But they need more notice and more resources, and donating to them is certainly a good idea. There is something else we can do. When the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that there could be essentially no limits on campaign spending, they specifically said that states could require full disclosure of where such money comes from. But the Michigan Legislature still allows the source of a lot of contributions to be hidden from public view – so-called dark money.
That is something the legislature could change, though most Republicans remain completely opposed. Maybe that will change after gerrymandering ends after the 2020 census. That is, if enough citizens realize what’s being done to them, and make their wishes known.
I’m Jack Lessenberry – I hope you listen again soon.
