Re: Campaign Finance Reform

[jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>]

At 10:41 AM 12/18/95 -0500, you wrote:
>On Mon, 18 Dec 1995, Jon Lasser wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 17 Dec 1995, jim bell wrote:
>...
>> > It is absolutely true that you couldn't stop a person from communicating
>> > claims of a donation to a politician.   But what you COULD do is to ensure
>> > that the donor couldn't PROVE that he made such a donation.  In other
words,
>> > _I_ could claim that I gave $1K to Senator Sludgepump (a lie) and the good
>> > senator would have no idea that I wasn't telling the truth.  The people who
>> > REALLY made such donations would be helpless.
>> 
>> A tricky way around this, if it's done ALMOST properly, is to donate in 
>> odd amounts... ie "Senator Sludgepump, I am going to donate $469.23 to 
>> your campaign..."
>> 
>> All this means is that the donations would have to be lumped in some way 
>> so that Senator Sludgepump can't find out the exact amounts donated by 
>> any individual.
>
>Cancelled checks.
>
>Or, hand check in addressed, stamped envelope to Senator Sludgepump and 
>ask him if he would mind sealing it and dropping it in a mailbox.
>
All of which raises numerous opportunities for sting operations against
politicians, done by individuals by procedures provided for under law.
Escrow (Okay, I know that's a dirty word around here, but...) an encrypted
statement of how you intend to run the sting, to be opened by the escrow
agent at some point in the future, explaining who you're going after and
how.  Make the contribution, keep evidence, and if you're successfull the
congressman goes to jail for a few years.