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So Heather was wrong to donate to Operation Homefront the $5000, former Congressman and now Federal Prison inmate Duke Cunningham gave her? As long as we have transparency and understand where the money came from and why it is being donated, this seems like a reasonable course of action.
The REAL problem is that OUR public SERVANTS are required to amass huge amounts of cash in order to run an effective campaign. A voluntary PUBLIC FINANCING law (similar to the law in Arizona) would eliminate the need for PUBLIC servants to take cash from people they may not know. The law still allows individuals to refuse the public campaign money and raise it on their own.
Rather than question or criticize the motives of politicians, and the cash they receive from criminals, lets come up with real alternatives and debate the merits of said alternatives. We need solutions not complaining.
Is your solution to return money to convicts and other ne'er-do-wells? That seems illogical and ill advised.
My issue is that if we know that that the money in question was ripped off from the taxpayers, as in the Metro Court scandal, then the money should not be turned over to a favorite charity but returned to the state and the taxpayers.
I think to money should go to the Manny Aragon defense fund.
Mis-begotten money is not reversible.
My sister's business was embezzled and even though the people were convicted, the money was spent. My sister never saw a cent returned.
Miscreant's political donations are only a very small percentage of mis-begotten money that is traceable. Even that money is irretrievable. So, some money is donated to charity rather than spent toward a campaign.
I think that the state can seize money and property acquired via illegal drug transactions but white collar crime proceeds usually passes through our justice system. Even if the state imposes fines, none of that goes back to the victims.
Is it not quite right? I suppose so but there it is. Just what IS your point Mario? This system is imposed upon Dems and Reps alike. Mario, this is just another one of your partisan contortions.
I think the fair thing to do is for federal law enforcement to conduct like kind unconstitutional investigations of Rep office holders as they have done the Dem office holders. I wonder about Rep corruptions that have gone on.
When the Dems take power, there may be a Rep purge. Charities will be doing well indeed.
if you take dirty money and give it back when you get caught; you have not undone taking dirty money in the first place.
absolute transparency in every aspect of public service will make corruption and imcompetence impossible.
how much public corruption would there be, if every government project included a percent "surcharge", to pay for a forensic audit when the job was done?
Excellent point Chedd! The criminals will probably develop even more sophisticated methods of stealing, but we can at least attempt to plug one of the leaks in the dike.
Say you have a donor that is willing to give a candidate $5000.00 dollars. Instead of taking the one time donation, now at least in the city's new "ethical" public campaign finance system, the candidate goes around getting 1000 people to sign the $5 certificates or just goes down a voter list and picks out a 1000 people or whatever and then turns in the $5000 and the 1000 slips and successfully gets a check from the city for $10,000!
All this talk about public campaign finance and "ethics" reform is SMOKE!
It is a way for those individuals who can't fundraise because they have NO support and CANT WIN elections ie. Eric Griego and Progressive Democrats to actually get money so that they can bash real candidates!
I don't want my tax dollars to go to candidates in order for them to turn around and spend it on the Heather/Patsy wars!
Dear Common Cause and others... go back to protecting the trees!
Commenting by HaloScan
