Font Resize"For Sale: Utah lawmakers. Why hire a lobbyist when you can buy direct? Your generous campaign contributions will purchase access, referrals, intervention, votes and legislation."
We made up that ad. State office holders aren't quite that blatant. In fact, they'd tell you they can't be bought. But, due to the state's lack of caps on campaign contributions, and lawmakers' reluctance to put reasonable limits in place, that's the message they send.
A free-market philosophy, when applied to campaign financing, fosters voter apathy, foments public distrust and furthers, if not corruption, then the appearance of corruption. Large donations, particularly from corporations and political action committees that represent special interests, undermine the public's confidence in their elected leaders and the political system.
The erosion is showing at the polls. In the 2006 general election, Utah had the lowest voting rate in the nation at 36.7 percent. Last year, a mere 7.97 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the primary election, an all-time low. And in the 2008 presidential election, only 54.3 percent of eligible adults turned out, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation, according to researchers at George Mason University.
Those dismal statistics factored into Gov. Jon Huntsman's decision to appoint a Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy. This praiseworthy but powerless panel will make recommendations for lobbying, ethics
Commission member Bruce Hough contends that campaign contributions are a form of free speech and therefore should not be restricted. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed in a 2000 decision upholding state limits on contributions. Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens, said "money is property; it is not speech."
And Utah candidates are raking in the property, with the big bucks coming in big chunks, primarily from corporations and political action committees. Five-figure donations are common.
It wouldn't happen in most states. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Utah is one of just six states that allow unlimited campaign contributions to candidates for state offices. And it's one of just 13 states that place no limits on donations to political parties and political action committees. That has to change.
Commissioner Hough, a Republican national committeeman, also says that transparency -- the complete and speedy disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures -- will keep lawmakers honest. But according to a 2009 study by The Center for Public Integrity, Utah is also failing in that regard. The state's campaign disclosure laws garnered a grade of F, ranking 47th in the class.
But even if the state earned an A+, disclosure is not enough. The average citizen does not have the time, and may lack the technology, to keep tabs on campaign contributions and expenditures on the state's Web site. Nor can he or she easily connect the dots between donations and legislative actions.
We deserve better. We're also partly to blame, either by failing to vote, or by electing candidates who are content with the sorry state of affairs. Call your state senator and representative (contact information is available at www.le.state.ut.us/) and demand that they cap campaign contributions.
Limiting donations by individuals or corporations to $1,000 for each candidate, political party or political action committee per election cycle seems reasonable. That way, lawmakers will be indebted to voters, not donors.
