First: Campaigns are limited to the 30-day period immediately preceding the election.
Second: Political ads are totally banned on radio and television.
These should be made into law at all levels of government. No matter the level of government, we elect people to do a specific job. Is campaigning one of the tasks listed in their job descriptions? Darn well shouldn't be. Are they performing well and in a timely manner the tasks that are part of their job description while they're on the campaign trail? In some cases, I'm sure they are. But I fear that in many cases, they most definitely are not.
It may come as a surprise (it was to me when first I became aware of it, some time back) that my 2 proposed laws have been the law of the land in the UK for some time. This brief article from the Chicago Tribune, dated May 14, 2010, describes the UK process.
Last week, Conservative Party leader David Cameron ousted Gordon Brown as prime minister of the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, Brown resigned his post and Cameron moved to No. 10 Downing St. The campaign lasted one month and virtually nothing was spent by either campaign, compared with U.S. standards.
The national election in the U.K. should be a wake-up call to Americans.
Campaign spending in this country is out of control.
In the 2008 presidential race, the candidates spent a total of $1.7 billion, double what was spent in the 2004 race. In the U.K. election, a spending cap of 20 million pounds, about $33 million, was imposed on each of the major parties. Of course, campaigns there are less expensive partly because of a ban on paid radio and TV
advertising or any ads on matters of "political or industrial controversy."This article was reprinted without permission, which means I'll probably go to jail. But hey, no sacrifice is too great for my faithful readers!
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