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Fix Campaign Funding Now

by Michael McFarland, Ph.D., a REP member from Fresno, CA
letter to the editor published in the Fresno Bee, January 15, 1999

Kudos to Richard W. Kuntsman for holding Rep. George Radanovich's feet to the fire for his abysmal environmental voting record (letter, Jan. 10). With few notable exceptions, Republicans in Congress have sought to weaken all environmental protections over the past six years, and to exploit the earth and its resources for short-term profits.

I agree with Patrick Buchanan, long-time Republican writer and commentator, that the core value of the Republican Party today is not conservatism - it is materialism. True conservatives value the natural world and its biological diversity, and seek to preserve it rather than plunder it.

As long as large corporations fund Republican campaigns, we can expect no better from Republican elected officials. In my mind, the most critical environmental issue today is campaign finance reform.

We have become a nation increasingly governed by the shills of corporate power, which itself is becoming increasingly multi-national, willing to sell out the interests of American citizens and American workers for increased short-term profits.

The time for fundamental reform of campaign finance has arrived.