Public frustration with political influence peddling hasn’t been this high since Watergate, and thanks to Maine we finally have an example of how to do reform right.
Ellen Miller
Ellen Miller is the publisher of TomPaine.com. She is a former senior fellow at The American Prospect and the Moving Ideas Network.
A public interest advocate with over 30 years experience in Washington, D.C., Ms.Miller's career spans early work with Ralph Nader at the Center for ResponsiveLaw and the Center for Auto Safety, to positions on Capitol Hill at the HouseIntelligence Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and thefounding and direction of two nationally prominent organizations in the field ofmoney and politics The Center for Responsive Politics and Public Campaign.Before joining The Prospect, she served as president of Youth Venture, a nonprofit focused on creating a dramatic change in the role of young people in contemporary American society.
A nationally-recognized expert on America's campaign finance system, Ms. Milleris well-known as a public speaker, commentator, and writer on a range of issues. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including EarthAction, the Center for Responsive Politics, and the Family Foundation, and livesin Washington, D.C. with her husband, Richard, and their two daughters, Anne andElizabeth.
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Reform You Can Take to the Bank
At its core, the McCain-Feingold bill was about getting rid of soft money. So far, so good. But as part of the deal, the Senate voted to hike hard-money limits. The Senate has thus exacerbated the money-and-politics problem. Assuming that the bill becomes law, we can expect a future in which campaign costs soar, elite […]
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Rescuing Politics from Money
T his special double issue of the Prospect focuses on money and politics. It is part of a continuing series on this set of topics, which is central to the project of reviving progressive politics. In this century, there have been successive waves of reform, beginning with the Progressive Era, which sought to constrain the […]
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Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back
The final numbers aren’t in yet, but we may soon be calling this the first $4-billion presidential election in U.S. history. (About half as much was spent by parties and candidates a mere four years ago.) With most of the campaign money coming from special interests, the need for comprehensive reform intensifies. A new wave […]
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Golden Zip Codes
From the high-rises of New York’s Upper East Side to the mansions of Beverly Hills, the wealthiest Americans are opening their wallets to invest in presidential politics. Candidates Bill Bradley, George W. Bush, Al Gore, and John McCain are all overwhelmingly and disproportionately dependent on wealthy and white contributors to finance their campaigns. While the […]
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The Courting of John McCain
Can George W. Bush get John McCain’s endorsement? That may turn out to be the most important political question of the spring. Bush isn’t off to a good start: He’s made a series of remarks antagonizing the McCain camp, even as both his and McCain’s surrogates have been trying to bring the two sides together. […]
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Campaign Finance Emissions
Thirty years after the first Earth Day in 1970, environmentalists have much to celebrate. Just 25 years ago, for example, the majority of the nation’s water was polluted. Today, two-thirds of that precious resource is considered safe, thanks largely to the Clean Water Act. But despite the broad public support for further efforts to cut […]
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Swearing Off Soft Money – Sort Of
As the most expensive Senate race in the country ($63.4 million raised by all candidates as of September 20), the New York contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Representative Rick Lazio is drawing almost as much attention as the presidential campaign. Lazio made news by challenging Clinton, in the midst of their first televised […]
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Character and Campaign Finance
For years, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has steeled the spines of his fellow opponents of campaign finance reform by telling them, don’t worry, no one has ever won or lost an election because of his or her position on the issue. Well, McConnell’s maxim is losing its power. Senator John McCain’s stunning victories over Texas […]