All About Granny D’s Walkabout
One Extraordinary Example of Citizen Commitment
By Gary R Zuckett
Huh? ...Walkabout? ...Who’s Granny D? ...Why should I care?
Granny D’s given name is Doris Haddock. Her walkabout will affect us all if she is success- ful in promoting her cause to the American people. Her issue is "dirty money" in politics, i.e. the huge need for campaign finance reform. She's now in Kentucky having walked from the Pacific Ocean starting last winter. Ten miles a day isn’t bad for 89 year old Granny D, and she gets lots of waves and rave reviews as she speaks in the towns and cities she travels through. One can browse the list of cities and read some of her speeches from the comfort of your computer screen at www.grannyd.com. For those of you stuck in the pre-web age keep reading for some bits of wisdom from this sage of the double yellow lines.
"It is my belief that a worthy American ought to be able to run for office without having to sell his or her soul to the corporations or the unions in order to become a candidate. Fund raising muscle should not be the measure of a candidate -- ideas, character, track record, leadership skills: those ought to be the measures of our leaders." – Granny D, Reform Party Convention, Dearborn, Michigan on July 23, 1999.
What kinds of reform is Granny D promoting? A ban on "soft" money is one. Actually it should be called "slush money" for it can flow in any direction to the benefit of any candidate from the coffers of the state or national parties. Unlike campaign contributions to candi- dates, "soft money" is limited only by the depth of the pockets of the donors. $100,000 of this "slush money" from the National Republican Senatorial Committee was laundered through a Virginia. bank and spent in the final days of our last governors race on libelous attack ads targeting Charlotte Pritt, the Democratic nominee. This is a good example of just how rotten dirty money politics can be.
Eliminating soft (slush) money by itself will not repair what was once a democratic system of government in our country. We must look at the payback that large investors receive for their direct donations to politicians. Its rather obvious that Coal money, which flows so freely to those who inhabit our West Virginia state capitol, buys super tax credits, weak environmental laws and enforce- ment, and other great returns on its "investment" in the state’s political leaders.
What about the national scene? Here are a few examples from an article written about Granny D which can be found on the web at ariannaonline.com:
Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Control and Risk Assessment, has introduced a number of bills that would weaken Superfund cleanup laws. Over the last five years, he has also collected more than $108,000 in PAC and large contributions from companies named as "potentially responsible parties'" at Superfund sites in his home state.
Sen. "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.) received more than $250,000 from the banking, insurance and securities industries during that same period. He was -- coincidentally? -- the only Democrat to vote for a bill that would eliminate the firewall between banks, insurance and securities companies and water down laws requiring banks to serve low-income communities.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) scored nearly a million dollars in contributions for his party from casino interests following a trip to Las Vegas with McConnell aboard casino magnate Steve Wynn’s corporate jet. Afterward, Lott tucked a 10-year, $316 million tax break for the casino industry into an IRS reform bill. "No other industry benefits from it," said Frank Clemente, director of Congress Watch.
Nine of this year’s top 10 Senate recipients of PAC contributions from the Health Benefits Coalition, representing managed-care and business interests, voted against allowing patients to sue their HMOs.
What we see here are excellent business investments. The casino industry invests a million in the Republican Party and gets over $300 million in return. What a deal! The stock market pales in comparison...
Unfortunately its OUR money that’s being given away. When big business gets big tax breaks and corporate welfare it’s the little guy that must
carry the load in increased taxes and reduced public services. Enough already.
How can we stop this hemorrhage of public trust, and set our representative government back on track?
GrannyD (and others – see www.publicampaign.org) has a plan. It’s a bold departure from the money chase that elections have become. It’s a plan that has overwhelming support from the American people in poll after poll across the nation. Its been passed as a ballot initiative in three states and through one state legislature. Its simple and it works: public finan- cing of political campaigns.
The basic premise is a no-brainer. If we, the citizens, fund the campaigns of those who are elected to public office, then hopefully they will remember who they working for when they run the government. It is a voluntary and constitutional way for candidates to run for office using a parallel track of "clean money." Candidates can then concentrate on their issues and platform instead of scurrying around begging support from fat cats.
Spend tax money to elect politicians? Sounds expensive, but it’s not. Estimates range from $3 to $5 per taxpayer. This would be far cheaper in the long run than all the corporate welfare and tax breaks we pay for every year as a result of the existing system. Think about it, would Granny D lie to us?
Ask her yourself when Granny D walks across the Belpre Bridge into Parkersburg in December .Keep your eye peeled on the media for the details.
Like Granny D, Gary Zuckett has a long history of citizen commitment. Over the years he’s worked hard within the political system of West Virginia trying to lighten the burdens of the poor and disenfranchised He is keenly aware that more burden should be on those most able to carry it -- those from the affluent business and professional community. His prime areas of concern are the environment, health issues and social justice.