![\"DSC_0189\"](\"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/hlpr\/files\/2014\/04\/DSC_0189-300x188.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s keynote speaker was Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD). Congressman Sarbanes is the author of the Government by the People Act (H.R. 20), which would create a new public campaign financing system to give candidates a way to wage campaigns without taking donations from special interests.<\/p>\n
The congressman spoke about how, because his district is close to DC, he enjoys being \u201cone of the few members who can come back home every night\u201d to hear from his constituents, many of whom are very distrustful of Congress. Those conversations worry him because, \u201cI don\u2019t think you can sustain a democracy when the democratic institutions on which it\u2019s based are held in such low esteem by the public.\u201d He attributes that negative impression in part to a sense among ordinary people that their opinions don\u2019t matter to their representatives in a world in which special interests fund campaigns.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Congressman Sarbanes believes that it\u2019s not enough to protect the right to cast a ballot; progressives also must protect \u201cthe right to have your vote mean something.\u201d He spoke eloquently about the influence that campaign donations have the day after <\/i>the election, when the winners go to Washington and are influenced by their donors. The congressman described how he \u201cwalks the walk:\u201d he is one of only two members of Congress who has given up all Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions from any source (the other, Jared Polis (D-CO), is a multimillionaire). He argued that the current Supreme Court majority doesn\u2019t \u201cunderstand\u201d that what frustrates ordinary Americans isn\u2019t necessarily quid pro quo <\/i>corruption, but corruption on an \u201cinstitutional level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congressman Sarbanes argues that one way to fight institutional corruption is to focus on giving candidates other options to run competitive campaigns. His Government by the People Act would reduce the influence of the Sean McCutcheons of the world by increasing the influence of ordinary constituents. The bill has three parts:<\/p>\n
The Government by the People Act would allow a candidate who has built a close bond with her constituents by soliciting many small donations to survive an onslaught from super PACs. Congressman Sarbanes believes that, if they are given a choice, candidates across the country would choose time and time again to secure their funding from ordinary citizens rather than special interests. The idea complements efforts to pass a constitutional amendment on campaign finance reform or increase disclosures and transparency, which focus on refereeing the conduct of the money players. The Government by the People Act creates another frame, looking at the millions of Americans who say, \u201cWhat about us? If money is speech, doesn\u2019t my speech have a role?\u201d For Congressman Sarbanes, the Government by the People Act can harness a lot of Americans\u2019 anger and frustration in a positive way to strengthen the voices of ordinary citizens in their Congress.<\/p>\n