“People who have more money should be free to buy more cars, more homes, more vacations, and more gizmos than the rest of us. They should not be able to buy more democracy." -Bill Moyers  
 
   
 
 

For Immediate Release: December 17, 2005 

Ohio Law Opens the Door For Wealthy Interests to Sway Elections 

The campaign finance bill passed by the Ohio Legislature today threatens to surrender the reins of Ohio government to an elite group of political investors, according to citizens groups.  As written, the legislation would gut the state’s longstanding safeguards designed to level the political playing field for ordinary Ohioans, stated political watchdog TheRestofUs.org.   

“Instead of responding to the recent scandals by improving the system, legislative and party leaders are now using these scandals as an excuse to repeal the very laws which their political friends were breaking,” said Ned Wigglesworth, analyst for TheRestofUs.org.  “What next?  Tax breaks for people who cheat on their taxes?”

Passed under the guise of reform, this Trojan horse legislation quadruples the dollar amount that wealthy contributors can give to candidates, opens up the floodgates of corporate money into political parties, and silences the voices of outside critics who might disagree with the agenda of the big money legislature.  The proposal helps only two discreet groups, according to The Ohio Public Interest Research Group: certain legislators and the wealthy hands that feed them.

 “Not many Ohioans can afford to give the maximum amount of $2,500 under current Ohio law, much less the $10,000 passed by the House State Government Committee,” said Erin Bowser, director of OhioPIRG.  “Who could this law possibly benefit other than wealthy interests?”

 When the federal contribution limits doubled from $1,000 to $2,000 under the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, contributions of $1,000 of more to presidential candidates increased from $119,444,051 to $300,310,904, according to a study done by the Campaign Finance Institute.  Ohioans can now expect an even greater increase in the ability of big donors to sway Ohio elections.

 “Ohioans shouldn’t fall for proposals masquerading as reforms,” said Derek Cressman, director of TheRestfUs.org.  “As politicians continue to respond to the public outcry for reform by setting back the clock to the days of robber barons and Tammany Hall, the people of Ohio will need to speak up and let their elected officials know they’re not going to stand for it.”

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TheRestofUs.org is a nonpartisan political watchdog dedicated to alerting citizens to the problems of big money in politics.