It’s amazing, but this longtime political junkie is finding some of the political game distasteful.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up the pursuit of the most intriguing of the social sciences. I love politics – but am beginning to hate some of the stuff that comes with it.

It’s not the corruption that is turning me off – that’s been part of the system since before Plato wrote the Republic.

My concern is the money needed to acquire and stay in office as well as the associated evil and abrogation of ethical standards and principles that go with it.

The financial foundation of politics is an out-of-control escalating geometric progression of money exchanging hands to buy and sell access and influence.

A presidential race costs a gazillion dollars. A U.S. Senate race you can figure $25 million – although Hillary’s re-election campaign next year could pioneer new financial ground on both sides. A closely contested NY congressional race ranges from $1 to $2 M.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are needed to win a vacant contested NY State legislative seat. And although the NYC Campaign Finance Board has set an under- $200,000 spending cap for City Council public financing, there are a batch of Councilmembers sitting with war chests in the $400,000 plus range and opting out of the system.

We won’t even count what Mayor Mike will spend on his reelection. Folks like him and Jersey’s John Corzine have brought a new spin on the funding of political campaigns. They have blown the lid off previous expenditure but they have used their own funds negating any problem with buying and selling influence.

If you ask an insider, the best way to influence legislation, budget appropriation or government decisions, they’ll tell you to use the checkbook. Just look at the political contributions made by professional lobbyists, they’ll show you who you have to feed to have influence at the seats of power.

I recently approached an elected official and asked for advice in getting public funding for a particular worthwhile cause. The discussion centered on who should make the first call. Acknowledging the influence of the press, we reviewed and he dismissed an impressive list of elected officials I suggested, rolled his eyes at civic leaders, and then smiled with approval when I proposed a particular name — one of the decision maker’s largest political contributors.

Yup, it’s usually a case of Jerry Maguire’s “Show Me The Money.”

You have not-for-profit organizations hiring professional lobbyists and asking their board members to buy tickets to political fundraisers in order to get public funds. You have lobbyists taking exorbitant fees from worthwhile institutions, spreading a bit of their wealth around – legally – and delivering public budget lines.

You have corporations spending endless budgets on lobbying and contributions which certainly influence the decisions of government.

You have archaic laws that remain unchanged because legislative bodies become so bloated on contributions of interested parties they lack the will to move fast enough to catch up with the times – or is it that they lack the courage to enact laws that may not please those that provide the funds that bloat?

Political Action Committees, unions, corporations, special interests groups, the left, the right, all have one thing in common: the green which greases the wheels of government and makes it quietly work for them.

Soft money, a euphemism for legally skirting campaign finance laws, provides big corporate contributors loopholes large enough to drive a political party through.
Even the finest politicians can get sucked up in that giant whooshing sound. They are not devils. But some mornings when they wake up and discover who they’ve been in bed with, they have can have a hard time looking at themselves in the mirror.

But the need for money keeps growing.

TV costs, postage, print, polls, staff, consultants, research, fundraising, primaries, generals and keeping it all going from year to year can become very expensive while considerably increasing the girth of the politician.
And the contributors are also caught in the ugly cycle. It’s not always quite “pay to play” but money usually assures the entry price. For big companies, it’s the cost of doing business. For the individual who can afford it and wants a seat at the table, money buys access – big time. And for those who want to influence, spread it around, they won’t forget. There’s nothing illegal going on.

There is nothing wrong with contributing and there’s nothing wrong with asking and taking.

It just isn’t very good for the ordinary folks who only have enough money to pay the bills and save for the kid’s college or retirement. It’s not very good or our city, state or nation. It’s not very good for democracy. There’s nothing wrong with it.

It just stinks!

Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.