Special
Interests, the party that really governs
January 21 , 2007
by Sen. Tom Reynolds
While the Democrats are celebrating the capture of Congress, the governor’s
office, and the State Senate, the truth be told is that they were not
the real winners on election day. The party that will have the real power
is the party of “special interests”.
Politicians know that it requires a lot of money to get re-elected — and
the special interests know this all too well. Special interests are very
well versed in “pay-to-play” politics. Their lobbyists know
that the bigger the contribution, the bigger the favor — even if
the favor is at the expense of the taxpayers who are forced to
pay the cost.
The empirical evidence of the special interests’ lust for total
government control, is seen by the obscene contributions to buy off politicians
in the 2006 election with record spending in gubernatorial, Senate and
House races. The 2006 campaign marks the first time in a non-presidential
election year that political media spending outpaced the previous presidential
election. Total spending on political advertising and marketing communications
is estimated to have exceeded $3.4 billion — a record that is likely
to be broken in the 2008 presidential election.
Money plays far too great a role in American elections, from local races
all the way up to the presidency. Large contributions from the special
interests unfairly dictate who wins elections, and greatly diminishes
the impact of us measly voters.
The biggest problem with money in politics is that large contributions,
which only the special interests can afford to make, dictates who runs
for office and who wins elections.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign finance data for the 2006
primary elections shows that money played a key role in determining election
outcomes and that most campaign contributions came from a small number
of large donors — and money is a major factor in determining primary
election outcomes. According to FEC data, major party congressional candidates
who raised the most money won 92 percent of their primary races in 2006.
The same problem applies to Wisconsin politics. The 2006 race for governor
was the most expensive in state history, with the candidates spending
more than an estimated $30 million.
Gov. Jim Doyle, who greatly outspent challenger Mark Green, was aided
in his victory by $ millions in independent expenditures. The Greater
Wisconsin Committee alone spent nearly $2 million on TV ads trashing
Green.
I personally experienced the wrath of big-moneyed special interests that
unleashed their vicious attacks during the weeks leading up to the November
election. The road builder’s Building Wisconsin’s Future
ran a TV ad blitz promoting the intentional lie that, “Senator
Tom Reynolds has used some of YOUR hard earned dollars to pay his home
utility bills”. I was incensed in having to respond to these blatant
lies. But without financial assistance from the state GOP to counter
the lies, all I could do was file a complaint with the Milwaukee County
District Attorney. He declared that the attack ads were untrue, and I
was vindicated. But it was too late, the attack ads created just enough
doubt to give the special interests’ candidate his margin of victory.
With the aid of the road builders’ contributions, my opponent was
able to buy his way into office. And to the victor goes the spoils. You
can say goodbye to prudent restraint in spending on new roads and bridges.
As I wrap my term of service to my constituents, I find the mindset here
in the state legislature to be somewhat disconcerting. I have always
believed that an elected representative should place the interests of
the public in a higher priority than those of the special interests.
Here in Wisconsin the special interest groups such as; the teacher and
public employee unions, the indian tribes, the trial attorneys, and the
road builders, have taken state government hostage. And the ransom being
paid by the people is in the form of exorbitant taxes. The problem is
that the more we pay in taxes, the less say we have in government. Conversely,
the more that special interests pay in contributions to political campaigns,
the greater voice they have in the legislative process.
As the old adage goes, “he who has the gold rules.” An example
of the impact of money was seen in the days before the November 2002
election when the three tribes involved in state casino negotiations,
contributed $725,000 of soft money to the Democratic National Committee
to help elect Jim Doyle governor. Less than three months later, Doyle
revealed the sweetest of sweetheart deals that he signed with the same
three tribes who forked over the $3/4 million.
It’s not just the campaign contributions that have robbed the people
of their government — the special interests also spend big on lobbyists.
In 2003, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) spent more
than $1 million lobbying lawmakers in Madison.
The politicians can get away with ignoring the interests of the people
because they are very good at misrepresenting themselves to their constituents.
Even the most sincere elected officials, intent on passing good public
policy, succumb to the intense pressure from lobbyists and turn their
back to the voters back home. Day after day, we are subjected to the
endless parade of lobbyists intent on convincing us of the needs of the
special interests they represent. It was a constant drone of pleas to
spend more to solve this problem or build another public boondoggle.
Rarely, did I see someone that wanted me to cut spending and reduce taxes.
The political culture in Madison rewards those who climb aboard the gravy
train of the special interests. If you dare refuse to join the ride,
you are attacked as being an extremist.
In the November election, the special interests in Wisconsin reaffirmed
their role with all elected officials in the legislature. If you dare
cross them and endanger their access to the taxpayer horn of plenty,
they will spend exorbitant amounts of money to attack and defeat you.
After my defeat, do you believe that there is any legislative will to
resist organized interests like the road builders — or oppose an
ethanol mandate? Not a chance.
You can give up any hope that the Legislature will pass a Taxpayer Bill
of Rights. While the issue is still very much alive among voters throughout
Wisconsin, the election results have killed all hopes for spending reform
in all levels of government.
Heaven forbid, if the state’s taxing authorities had to reasonably
limit their spending increases, they might have to say no to some of
the requests by special interests. And nobody ever visits the legislators
in Madison to ask them not to spend more of our hard-earned tax dollars.
It’s time that voters face the fact that a meaningful Taxpayer
Bill of Rights has to come from the grassroots base and not from the
incestuous political arena in Madison where pseudo-intellectuals determine
what is in our best interests.
Without the involvement of the grassroots voters in Wisconsin, a Taxpayer
Bill of Rights is certain to become the Politicians Bill of Rights — and
a perpetuation of the era of big government.
George Washington said, “The basis of our political systems is
the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.” It’s
about time that we the people exercised that right.
The special interests control government here in Wisconsin. They are
the sole reason why public employee benefits are the highest in the nation,
while the employee contribution is the lowest. In the next few years,
the unfunded public employee health insurance and pension liability will
require $ billions in additional taxes.
George Lightbourn, former Secretary of Administration for the State of
Wisconsin, predicts that unfunded health insurance and pension benefits
for public employees in Milwaukee County, could bring county to the brink
of bankruptcy within two y e a r s. He further predicts that by
2011, property taxes will be 61 percent above where they stand in 2006
pushing the county tax levy on a $150,000 house from $636 to $1,020.
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