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Jan 22, 2007 -- Sen. Clinton to Forgo Presidential Public Financing: Statement of Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director The unofficial announcement that Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) would not accept public financing for her presidential bid was not unexpected, it was simply a matter of who said it first. For some time it has been commonly accepted that any serious contender for the White House in 2008 would opt out of the system. The reasons for candidates abandoning the current presidential public financing system are, sadly, logical, given that opponents have blocked attempts over the years to make sure the system kept up with changing times. But the fixes are clear and logical as well.
Clinton's decision regrettably makes perfect sense because the presidential public financing system is broken. With the leading candidate opting out, other viable candidates are likely to do the same or face an insurmountable disadvantage. The system of public financing has been desperately in need of repairs for many years because it has not kept pace with the realities of presidential elections.
Congress must make the system viable again. It is probably too late for this presidential cycle, but the system should not be left to die. The match for funds in the primaries needs to be higher, the amount candidates get from the system needs to be increased, and the timetables need to be updated to accommodate the frontloaded campaign cycle.
Ronald Reagan (1976), George H.W. Bush (1980) and Jimmy Carter (1976) all relied on public funds to keep their candidacies alive and viable in previous elections. The breakdown of the system takes away the idea of a level playing field and cedes that field to the early presumptive favorites. It is already too late to reform the presidential public financing system for the 2008 election, but the system can and should be fixed: The office of the President should not be put up for sale every four years.
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) has drafted legislation to update the system that would take effect for the presidential elections in 2012. The 110th Congress should make fixing the presidential system a top priority to ensure that the Presidency of the United States is not put on the auction block, nor is won by a candidate simply because of their ability to raise the most money. For more than 30 years, the presidential public financing system, from Reagan to Bush to Clinton, has helped make our election for the highest office more a battle of ideas than money. More than ever, our nation needs a system which puts greater emphasis on the character and ideas of candidates rather than their skill at soliciting contributions.
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