L'Taken Participants Lobby for Campaign Finance Reform

At the last L’Taken seminar, Illinois students lobbied their Senators and Representative about the critical importance of campaign finance reform. Jonah Helbraun and Ryan Liberman of Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, IL, and Francesca Block of Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe, IL, joined forces to share facts, Jewish values, and a powerful story about the real effects of money in politics in their community:

Ryan: Campaign finance has largely become about who has more money. In the 2014 midterm elections, we saw the most expensive Senate race in the history of this government. In this North Carolina race, candidates and outside groups spent a combined $111 million, the first ever Senate race to surpass $100 million. In total, the mid-term election cost about $3.67 billion this year, a conservative estimate that only includes spending disclosed to the Federal Election commission. Jonah: Every person’s opinion counts, but in today’s politics, not every person is being heard. The Torah speaks on the negatives of taking a bribe: taking bribes “blinds the cause of those who are right.” Although campaign contributions are not bribes, they unfortunately force the same result. The current campaign finance system takes candidates’ minds away from the people and from their ideals, instead forcing the candidates to focus on the wealthy few. This system also stops potential candidates from running, as potential candidates cannot afford to run a successful campaign. The Torah teaches that everyone should have the same rights and the same chances in life. But, unfair campaign finance places candidates who are not independently wealthy or highly funded on a lower playing field. Francesca: I know someone who has been affected by the unjust campaign finance system. This person is extremely close to me and influential in my life. He is a patient, intelligent, and thoughtful person. I believe that he would bring forth an important perspective on political issues happening in Illinois and around the country. Unfortunately, the idea that elections are greatly influenced by fundraising has persuaded this person to stay away from running from office. He felt that even though he was particularly well-off, he was not nearly wealthy enough to finance a campaign. He is an honest man who wanted his views to align by his personal faith and the beliefs of his constituents instead of the ideas of his sponsors. Therefore, my friend felt that the odds were stacked against him. Without the proper access to the funds other campaigners used, this man felt that he lacked an essential piece of that support. Now think about this: A man, living in a relatively wealthy city in Illinois, who has a successful career and strongly believes in his values, was convinced that he could not effectively run for office because he felt that he could not raise enough money to have a successful campaign. If a well off citizen feels he cannot run, what about those less well-off or those who fall below the poverty line? Many of these people know the issues at the center of policy and legislation in the United States, yet their economic situation holds them back from sharing their opinion. These people cannot even think about running for office and trying to raise the millions of dollars necessary to run a successful campaign. The United States loses crucial voices all around the country because of the expenses of running a campaign. How can Congress and other sections of government fully represent the United States if the majority of officials come from places where they have easier access to funding?

Indeed, we must work together to ensure that candidates can focus on their constituents rather on their campaign funds, and that money in politics does not prevent qualified candidates from running in the first place. Take inspiration from Francesca, Jonah and Ryan’s action to urge your Members of Congress to support fair elections today.