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>Isn't funding election campaigns from public money a quick and sure route to totalitarianism? There's no causal link between public funding and totalitarianis

>Isn't funding election campaigns from public money a quick and sure route to totalitarianism? There's no causal link between public funding and totalitarianism and there's no historical proof that this ever happened. When and if democracy fails, it happens for a number of other reasons, but this is certainly more likely to happen, when a) there's no equality in voter's influence on the outcome, b) there's no fair competition between candidates. Public funding usually addresses those two problems and at this moment does it quite successfully in Europe, which, despite all the recent turbulence and the rise of the far-right parties, is still in much better shape than USA, when it comes to the elections.

18pfsmt 9y ago
Nobody in the US is going to get behind banning me, an independent citizen, from making Bernie Sanders bumper-stickers or yard-signs. Nor me making TV ads about how great Bernie would be for our country. Your proposal is at complete odds with the US Constitution with respect to an individual's right to free speech. Lobbying creates a paper trail of sorts and is therefore more transparent (How do you think opensecrets exists?).
- ivan_gammel 9y ago
  Freedom of speech is just one of the many freedoms granted by the rule of law, it's not a law of nature and not something unquestionable in any circumstances. There are always limits to it, even in the US constitution itself (which is quite outdated document, as we already know from the mass shootings made possible by it). Limits can and should be imposed to defend the sane way to elect the government, but of course it's up to you, American people, which way do you want to go. I just hope that you'll finally sort this out somehow, because the world cannot let America being a self-proclaimed "leader of free world" ruled by Trump-like oligarchy.

18pfsmt 9y ago

Nobody in the US is going to get behind banning me, an independent citizen, from making Bernie Sanders bumper-stickers or yard-signs. Nor me making TV ads about how great Bernie would be for our country. Your proposal is at complete odds with the US Constitution with respect to an individual's right to free speech. Lobbying creates a paper trail of sorts and is therefore more transparent (How do you think opensecrets exists?).

ivan_gammel 9y ago
Freedom of speech is just one of the many freedoms granted by the rule of law, it's not a law of nature and not something unquestionable in any circumstances. There are always limits to it, even in the US constitution itself (which is quite outdated document, as we already know from the mass shootings made possible by it). Limits can and should be imposed to defend the sane way to elect the government, but of course it's up to you, American people, which way do you want to go. I just hope that you'll finally sort this out somehow, because the world cannot let America being a self-proclaimed "leader of free world" ruled by Trump-like oligarchy.