In defence of money in politics, really

OAKVILLE, ONT.—Given that we’re in the blazing, broiling, blistering dog days of August, I thought the timing was right to make a statement guaranteed to get people even hotter under the collar. Ready for it? Here goes: political fundraising, in my view, is actually good for democracy. There, I said it. This column is now officially “controversial.” After all, many, if not most, political observers out there would likely view my pro-fundraising bias as borderline crazy. Indeed, nothing about modern-day politics seems to stick in our collective craw more than the unrelenting and brazen way political parties constantly beg for our money. Not only does such political party panhandling come across as annoying and unseemly, but there’s also a widespread sense that mixing politics and money is more than just a tad bit unsavory. Political fundraising, the thinking goes, makes politicians beholden to the rich and powerful, which inevitably leads to shady backroom deals and to influence peddling and to outright government corruption. Donated money, in other words, is seen as the root of all political evil. And this perception about money and politics always gets a boost whenever the media focuses its gaze on the intermingling of donors, dollars and politicians. For instance, the optics for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne were terrible when the media highlighted her party’s “access for cash” fundraising technique. “Access for cash,” in this case means the Liberals charged corporate and union leaders up to $10,000 in exchange for spending time with Wynne and members of her cabinet. Now, nothing about this tactic is illegal and “access”, of course, does not necessarily translate into influence, yet it’s easy to see why a voter might take a dim view of this practice. Certainly, it wouldn’t take much imagination to picture a rich guy sidling up next to Wynne at some swank fundraising reception and saying something like, “Hey, Premier Wynne, how about giving us multi-millionaires a big fat tax break?” In fact, poor Wynne took such heat over the “access for cash” scheme that she has promised to revamp Ontario’s campaign finance laws. Yet, even if Ontario succeeds in reforming finance laws in ways which restrict wealthy donors it won’t save the reputation of political fundraising because even pitches designed to raise small amounts of money—$50, $75, $100—can raise hackles and offend sensibilities. For one thing, critics charge that partisan pleas for donations end up “dumbing down” our political discourse. And the critics may have a point. Rather than using nuanced or sophisticated arguments to raise money, most direct mail fundraising letters employ heavy-handed emotional language designed to scare donors into opening up their wallets. A typical letter usually has this sort of flavour: “Dear Donor: Our political opponents are evil people; they want to do terrible things to your family and to your country. Please send money.” At any rate, my point is even though I recognize that political fundraising has more than its fair share of warts and flaws and bad optics, it’s still, all things considered, good for democracy if only because it gives politicians an incentive to keep connected with real people. This is why I am opposed to replacing voluntary fundraising with government subsidies for political parties. As Mark Milke of the Fraser Institute once put it, “All subsidies do is insulate parties and politicians from the very people they purport to represent.” So yes, political fundraising may not be ideal, but it’s more ideal than the alternative. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, voluntary fundraising is the worst way to raise money for political parties, except for every other way. Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant. www.gerrynicholls.com The Hill Times

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In defence of money in politics, really

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