My free speech is louder than yours

Stuart Whatley, in an article in the Huffington Post and repeated in Truthdig, comments on campaign financing and democracy. It is obvious to the average American that the amount of money available has a big influence on the volume of one's free speech. That paid for by corporations can drown out so many other voices that the poor and middle class citizen is left feeling why bother? When the political contributions of the little guy amount to only 20% to 25% of a federal campaign's budget (Obama's campaign was remarkable that the small donations came up to 33% of what he raised) it is not surprising that legislation (health care, lack of carbon restrictions) favors corporations.

So how does one implement finance reform? Not the way it has been done, which has been a battle of piling on spending regulations which only get shot down on Free Speech grounds. It seems John Roberts has decided Free Speech trumps everything, including reducing corruption and promoting of democracy (I wonder if that would hold true for speech Roberts personally finds offensive).

The goal of publicly funded campaigns hasn't gotten far (at least at the federal level) because politicians have spent so much effort grooming donors they don't want to risk those lucrative ties (they're also afraid they might lose under any new system).

So if we can't fight the problem by reducing the money of the big players, can we fight it from the bottom by enhancing the effect of the little guy? Alas, the current system drives the little guy out of politics and it would take effort to re-engage him. Here are some ways that might be done:

* If you make a small donation the government will multiply it by five. Instead, a small donor could get a tax writeoff. Either way the small donor gets his voice amplified.

* Have the government subsidize broadcast time so it takes less money to compete. Shift focus from broadcast engagement to online, where the cost is much less. Alas, broadband isn't as readily available as one would think for such a rich company. Blame that on broadband monopolies.