A semi-modest proposal on politcal reform

This isn't a full blown modest proposal, think of it as a mere suggestion for the enhancement of the practice of politics in this nation.

Vote buying, as evidenced by this article in the Washington Post seems to be a continuing fact of life in the dusty corners of American politics.

Rather than rooting it out, stomping on it, and going through with the trouble and expense of prohibiting it, I say do the exact opposite.

Empower voters by allowing them to publically trade their votes for cold, hard, tax-free cash. From dog-catcher to President, why should lobbyist and politicians be the only ones benefitting from the trade in votes.

I say it's high time to democratize corruption. Expand the largess to the little man. With real monetary incentives for every possible vote participation levels would sky rocket.

Everyone eligible to vote would vote. In areas where a number of contests are hotly contested the windfall to citizens would be enormous.

Hand in hand with this suggestion would be the end of all political advertising of any kind. Let the voters shop on their own, say set up websites that direct voters to the various candidates and proponents of propisitions in their neighborhood. Once a verification process has been completed let the vote seller see what all the vote buyers have to offer. Many people will sell low if they agree with a candidate and hold out for big bucks for candidates with which they disagree. Would this really be any different then the current bombardment of negative ads we suffer through each election cycle? I say, the only difference would be that everyone would be much better off, regular citizens would have money in their pockets (instead of concentrating that transfer of wealth to a few owners of TV stations), and most politicians would probably end up spending less for their seats then they currently pay.

Middlemen could arise who buy blocks of votes speculatively and then use the aggregated votes to extract even more money out of the aspirants for political power. Every seat would be as competitive as long as the pockets were deep enough for the opponent. I would imagine people would donate tens of millions of dollars to unseat a Rep. Tom Delay or a Sen. Kennedy. Politicians who gain a reputation for honesty would be able to greatly increase the cost to defeat them just as they lower their own costs for retaining their seats. Letting the naked trading of votes for cash will have the surprising effect of creating an entire nation of competitive districts with every politician always on the look out how to best please their constituents since a happy constituency will be worth possibly tens of millions of dollars.

The more I contemplate this reform proposal the more it makes sense. Time to begin the amendment process because the best way to end corruption is to democratize corruption.