Unsuspecting Public Manipulated By Elected Officials: Gobar Says "Sometimes We Throw Baby Out With The Bathwater"

Few things raise my blood pressure higher than the blatant attempt by elected officials to make themselves appear to be the saviors of the people, while all the time using the naivety of those people to further their own agendas.

This manipulation of an unsuspecting public has been blatant in the articles published in the newspapers over the past few days.

Karcher, Kaye Claims "Misleading And Self-Serving"

These commentaries, penned by state Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-12th, and Phyllis Kaye of New Jersey Citizen Action, sound so good on paper but, in reality, are misleading and self-serving.

Karcher appears to have set herself up as the champion of the people, the savior of the honorable, who is going to clean up New Jersey politics and the election system by putting forth a bill to end so called pay-to-play, while the reality is that the passage of this bill, supported by New Jersey Citizen Action and thousands of frustrated voters, will absolutely guarantee the re-election of most incumbents — herself included — because there is one vital component of the process not included in the bill.

Most Successful Campaigns Have Funds Left Over

Here are the facts: Most successful campaigns have funds left over after election day.

Most of these funds are kept in an account for that candidate's next campaign, which is usually two or three years away.

Over those two or three years, these elected officials run small fund-raisers for themselves, adding money to their war chests, so that, by the time they are ready to run for re-election, they have a great financial head start.

Issue Not Addressed In Karcher Bil

These funds are not addressed in any way in Karcher's bill or in the FACE PILOT program.

The scenario I describe is the norm in the political world.

The following current situation is a prime example.

Two young newcomers in one of our towns are challenging two incumbents.

These incumbents have a starting war chest of more than $60,000 from funds left over from their last campaign and money donated to them over the past three years.

Incumbents Start Out With $60,000 Advantage

Now, even if all four candidates agree to abide by the rules of the pay-to-play bill or the FACE PILOT program, the incumbents will start out with more than $60,000, while the challengers will be beating the bushes to raise $5,000 through nickel-and-dime donations.

The incumbents will have their first mailings go out before the challengers even get into the game and this is with no one taking corporate donations.

This certainly is not a situation that will draw newcomers into public life.

Forbid Ongoing Campaign Accounts

Unless any bill put forth on this issue includes a law forbidding ongoing bank accounts after an election is over or a law that guarantees the challengers to public financing equal to the starting amount held by the incumbents, which is ridiculous, we are denying ourselves the opportunity to have new people enter the political scene.

Is that really what we want?

Before you, the electorate, support this bill in its current form, I suggest you find out how much Karcher and any other public officials supporting this bill, have in their war chests.

Then decide if you really want to limit your choices at the polls in this manner.

Maybe We Make A Bad Situation Worse

Sometimes we throw out the baby with the bath water.

In our desire to correct a bad situation, we can be misled into one that is even worse.