Our representatives are very intelligent people who uniformly have high opinions of themselves. The situation most are in right now over the bail out bill cannot be comfortable. Point out to them the reasons why they cannot consider solutions that might work. Note that remaining in this bind is a choice on their part, collectively. A move to a massive public financing of election expenses will be a leap in the dark. They will only take that leap when they realize that their current position is untenable.
The constraints arising from campaign finance are now so severe that it should be relatively easy to make the point in LTEs. I got such a letter published in the neo-con, neo-classical Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which I call the Arkansas DINO Gazette. Send similar letters to the office of Senator Obama and Senator McCain. It might start to sink in to the awareness of the staff people at least.
One of the good things to come out of this fiasco has been the repeated driving home by Democrats of the fraudulent and self-defeating nature of the entire neo-classical economics of Friedman, Reagan, Greenspan, the Bushes, etc. This is the ideal time to discredit such noxious bullshit. Next we need for people to understand the deliberate and self-serving process that brought us that policy on behalf of a wealthy few.
This may be a once in a political lifetime opportunity to enact fundamental change. That change has to start with campaign financing. Too much of what needs to change will impact wealthy donors in ways most will consider adverse. There is an old bridge players maxim: "If there is only one lay of the cards that will allow you to make your hand, assume that that is how the cards lay and play it!" That is what we need to do. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
The debate can then shift to more fundamental reforms aimed at the underlying problems. Vote McCain for war without gain
