@2: The Supreme Court has ruled that money spent on political campaigns is "speech" (whereas most of us, including the IRS, understand that money is actually property) and therefore cannot be abridged. Therefore, the only way to diffuse the influence of private money in our politics is to increase the amount of public money.
This is, hopefully, a first step down the road to having all selection of candidates for elective office done with public money -- because, um, it's a public office?
This is, hopefully, a first step down the road to having all selection of candidates for elective office done with public money -- because, um, it's a public office?