The Politician
An incumbent politician takes PAC money from a couple of corporate giants. His opponents in the race don't consider this to be a serious issue. Nothing can be bought with other people's money, one candidate proclaims. Another
entrant self-assuredly tells the press, this is the year the voters have finally spoken. A third office seeker thinks situational ethics will solve the problem. But the leading contender, the one with highest name recognition, doesn't concern himself
at all, so positive he's a shoo-in for the position. The most qualified and incorruptible candidate of the field explains to the masses that term limits without campaign finance reform simply means politicians with the most money will win, regardless if
those politicians are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. The incumbent politician, however, knows the name of the game is power and, prior to the campaign, channels the maximum of legally permissible contributions into his re-election committee's
swelling account. During subsequent weeks of fevered debate, he sanctimoniously declares, We should get rid of PACs at the national, state, and local levels. His constituents, disgusted about how powerless they have become, hold him up as a model of
democratic virtue. His integrity is never questioned. He is re-elected in a landslide.
Artwork by Susan Kramer
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