Simple Gifts

A few years ago, a friend of mine got involved with a campaign for a seat in the New Mexico State Congress. She knew the candidate well, and believed so firmly that he could accomplish wonderful things in politics that she sacrificed her time, energy, and resources to help get this young man elected. In fact, her entire circle of friends worked tirelessly to help this young candidate find his way into office.

Their efforts paid off. His no-nonsense, straightforward demeanor and honest answers to voters' questions helped him earn his place in the state legislature. Not long after he was elected, my friend called him to talk about how things were going and to offer her support for his re-election campaign. "I won't be running," he responded.

My friend was shocked, and told him that he simply had to run again, because of all the hard work that had gone into getting him elected in the first place and because the legislature needed more people of integrity. The young congressman spent the next several minutes explaining why he would never run for office again.

"For every one issue I believe is important, I have to vote for fifty things I do not believe in. The whole reason I got into politics was because I believed I could help clean things up, but I have to compromise everything I believe in to get anything done."

This problem is magnified several times over at the national level. Not only are most bills packed with special interest pork that bears little or no relation to the primary issue, but committees can add provisions to these bills after they have been voted on and signed into law by the President. In these cases, the democratic process is almost completely disregarded.

Special interests have more power than ever in Washington, D.C. As the federal government grows in size, spending, and complexity, it becomes easier to sneak provisions and policies into a system that has become far too vast and confusing for anyone to keep a watchful eye on its daily activities. This is, of course, exactly what politicians and special interests want, because this allows them to make deals and push their agendas through without anyone noticing.

The end result is that any time a meaningful piece of legislation is passed, several chunks of special interest payoffs are passed as well. To take one step forward, it seems we must take several steps back.

It used to be that judicial review could help limit this problem. Prior to and during the first years of FDR's presidency, the Supreme Court regularly struck down legislation that was overloaded with unnecessary provisions. The massive growth of the federal government, however, and the persistence of FDR's administration, made it impossible for the Supreme Court to perform the bulk of their duties hearing cases and still have the necessary time to undertake careful judicial review of the bills that are passed into law. Furthermore, several of these bills contain valid, important legislation, and to strike them down because of the special interest pork could be counterproductive.

The checks and balances so carefully laid out by the founders of this country have been struck down. The complexity and scope of the federal government has become so bloated that it is nearly impossible to effect honest change without conceding to dishonest, special interest pandering.

The solution is to demand that all bills are focused on a single issue. Instead of passing 20 or 30 new programs into law, narrow each new piece of proposed legislation down to a single issue. If this were accomplished, the American people and the media would be able to effectively keep track of who was voting for what and what the substance of each law was. Plans that require several different components would have to be voted on as several different bills, forcing the parties to come together to find solutions instead of trading special interest payoffs in order push their own agendas through. More transparency for the American people would allow them to see what their elected officials are really accomplishing and supporting.

Would this require more effort on the part of our lawmakers? You bet. Would this slow the system down and limit its ability to pass more laws? Absolutely. Could this make it more difficult to effect change? Yes, but that means it is also more difficult to pass laws that hurt our system. With single-issue bills, politicians could be held accountable for their every vote. Campaigns could include a clear list of a candidate's voting record instead of the misrepresentations that are currently produced by both incumbents and challengers.

It is time to slow down the federal government. It is time to make our elected officials take responsibility for the bills they vote for. It is time for honest change.