Why Mitch McConnell should know better - campaign fund corruption in his home state of Kentucky

Washington Monthly, Oct, 1997 by Michelle Cottle

Beliles confirms that such practices were everyday occurrences and legislators would have been offended at the suggestion they were doing anything improper. In fact, even after his fall from grace, Don Blandford maintained that he and his fellow indictees had done nothing wrong. In an interview from prison with NBC's Tom Brokaw, Blandford asserted, "There's nothing in the world wrong ... with a lobbyist giving gifts to legislators. It's done daily. ... And gifts are something that's a way of life."

Certainly, says Beliles, "many legislators took advantage of the situation but didn't do anything wrong. But gradually, legislators' loyalties went through a transformation and were transferred from the public interest and constituents to these special interests."

Even today, says state Rep. Tom Riner, most legislators don't believe that colleagues snared in the sting did anything wrong. "There's no real sense of contrition among members," says Riner. "There's more a sense that, Well, we're sorry the guys got caught and gave the rest of us a black eye.' They see it as a terrible situation, but from the standpoint of a public relations problem."

Kentucky residents, of course, viewed the problem differently. The public outcry immediately following BOPTROT drove legislators to pass sweeping campaign finance and ethics reforms. But as public pressure begins to subside, nostalgia for the good ol'days has legislators chipping away at the reforms. For example, the independent commission established in 1993 to investigate ethics complaints was effectively defanged during a subsequent session, with legislators taking back the power to appoint commission members themselves. Meanwhile, the contribution limits established by the campaign finance reforms were essentially quadrupled in this past session, reports Riner. "The legislature is becoming more and more friendly to lobbyists and to special interests," he adds sadly, "and I think we're sending a loud message to those groups that we're back in business"

Of course, fluid dealings between legislators and lobbyists are not unique to the Bluegrass state, and the harmful effects of special interest money on government can be observed everywhere from Sacramento to Austin to Washington, D.C. The names, dates, and down-home particulars of the situation may change, but the lesson remains the same: Money and politics don't mix. Despite what Mitch McConnell might have us believe, the idea that big money -- and sometimes even small money -- can corrupt our democratic process is not alarmist hogwash. And the desire to overhaul the current system, is not, as Senator McConnell has so patriotically put it, "some liberal trying to take away your First Amendment right to free speech." Until we reject this absurd notion that money in politics is not only acceptable but desirable, legislators will continue to subordinate the best interests of their constituencies to their own career goals (i.e, the best interests of major funders). Moreover, until the public gets angry enough to force lawmakers to fundamentally and permanently change the system, and the underlying culture, we shouldn't expect much improvement. And our nation's government will remain hostage to the vicious cycle of money in politics that plagues state and federal, Republican and Democratic, incumbent and insurgent politicians alike.