12 STEPS TO RECOVERY

Hello, my name is Wayne, and I'm a political fund raiser. So I have some confessions to make. For almost 20 years I've been raising money for Republican candidates. And despite all the scandals, congressional investigations and independent counsels, I believe fund raising is a legitimate part of our political system. To raise money, a candidate needs a mixture of charm, inspiration and persuasion--qualities also essential to success when candidates become officeholders.

I also confess that our fund-raising system is broken. Congressmen, candidates and Presidents all spend too many hours each day dialing for dollars--and not plotting the nation's future. And, increasingly, the hunt has taken the Clinton White House into dangerous territory--namely, other countries. Indeed, since 1994, both parties went overseas to find soft money because they were tapped out at home.

So, what do we do about it? Reformers like Common Cause call for drastic changes, such as free TV time for candidates who agree to limit their spending and public financing of campaigns. These are good ideas, if you are willing to gut the Bill of Rights and make the First Amendment read, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech except in the case of political participation."

There is a better way, a 12-step program for fixing our method of paying for elections. It's not perfect, but it's a start:

1 Require instant electronic reporting of all donations. We need this the most, and it would cost almost nothing. The best way to clean up the campaign-finance mess is to bring it all into the sunlight, instantly. Currently, campaigns must file quarterly with the Federal Election Commission. We might as well be using the telegraph in the age of E-mail. Instead each candidate should report every contribution to the FEC daily--and the FEC should be required to make it all available instantly via the Internet.

2 Remove all Senate-confirmed appointees, including Cabinet officers, from any fund-raising activities. All recent Presidents sent top Cabinet officers and officials to raise money in their name. Administration appointees are currently faced with the impossible situation of carrying out policy while at the same time providing care and comfort to party donors.

3 Report "donor servicing." In a new twist last year, the Clinton-Gore campaign invited donors to the White House, onto Air Force One and into other sacred public spaces for coffee. It wasn't what their lawyers called "fund raising"; they called it "donor servicing." Hence we need instant disclosure of all meetings between donors and public officials. Reports must be sent to the FEC in a timely manner. Critics will say this measure will impede the business of government in America. My rejoinder: not legitimate business.

4 Forbid congressional fund raising while Congress is in session. In the old days, fund raising was done in one's district on vacations; now it's done in Washington between votes on highway bills. The House and Senate should adopt new rules: No member of the House or Senate may hold, participate in or attend political fund-raising activities while his or her branch of Congress is open for business. Here's my favorite part: if Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich bring it to a vote, no one will vote against it.