Real Reform Needed
Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
When President Bush dropped by on Aug. 16 to visit Harley-Davidson in Springettsbury (Pa. ) Township, it was a leg of a trip that culminated with a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann in Lancaster.
The Associated Press reported that taxpayers are bankrolling the president's travels as he criss-crosses the country to campaign for Republicans in danger of losing control of Congress in this November's midterm elections. If such campaign trips are coupled with so-called "official"visits, taxpayers get stuck with the lion's share of the bill for travel, and political campaigns usually pay a small percentage. Certainly, the AP reported, President Bush is not the first president to play fast and loose with the law governing travel for political purposes. The law's been on the books since Ronald Reagan's stint in the White House, and nobody is seeking to change it because both parties have taken advantage of it. Again, this illustrates the pressing need for campaign finance reform - real reform. Past efforts to put controls on campaign finances have all been shot through with more holes than a Texas lawyer on a hunting trip with Vice President Dick Cheney.
- York (Pa. ) Daily Record
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