(U-WIRE) CORVALLIS, Ore. — While the tale of Enron’s demise is a terrible one, it will hopefully create awareness for an issue that has long been overlooked by the general public — campaign finance reform.
With 71 senators and 188 House members — nearly half of Congress — receiving money from Enron, it should be clearly evident that one corporation went to the cookie jar a few too many times. And now, pie is in the face of everyone involved.
But this wouldn’t be such a major fiasco if campaign finance laws were reformed, keeping soft money from large corporations from funding political campaigns. Congress should look at the case of Enron as further evidence of the need for controls on the huge amounts of money flowing into politics.
Campaign finance reform has made headlines before. Sen. John McCain and presidential candidate Ralph Nader are loudly in favor of the idea. But most Republicans and Democrats plug their ears when they realize how much money they could lose if such legislation were to pass.
Enron didn’t face the same scrutiny that California energy producers faced during the “crisis” of 2001. This should raise some eyebrows. Now, thousands of Enron employees have lost their life savings, while the Enron brass thought they would come out looking like gold.
Financial demands on those seeking office has grown steadily, forcing candidates to raise more money in hopes to earn the recognition and then trust of their constituents.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, during the 1996 election cycle, candidates in the House of Representatives who raised the most money won 92 percent of the time. In the Senate, 88 percent won. Given such a direct correlation between campaign spending and electoral success, it’s not surprising that illegal fund-raising scandals have plagued both parties.
And this scandal proves just that. Both Republicans and Democrats will be victims of Enrongate. Now, we must trust them to fix the problem.