CORRUPTION Syndromes of Corruption

Influence Markets 67
limits apply to all candidates, and Buckley forbade spending limits for
candidates not accepting public funds. Disclosure has more subtle
effects: under the pre-1970s system many donors, while giving the bulk
of their funds to incumbents, also gave at least small amounts to promising
challengers, ensuring access no matter who won. With contributions a
matter of public record many donors now find it prudent to give to
incumbents only. Incumbents also use disclosure to discourage potential
challengers by raising and reporting large amounts of ‘‘early money.’’
A sense of exclusion
Many Americans believe ‘‘money politics’’ is corrupt. In a 1997 Gallup
survey more respondents said elected officials in Washington are influenced
by pressure from contributors (77 percent) than by the best interests
of the country (19 percent), and more said elections are ‘‘for sale to the
candidate who can raise the most money’’ (59 percent) than ‘‘generally
won on the basis of who is the best candidate’’ (37 percent) (Gallup, 1997).
In 2003 Newsweek asked whether the political system ‘‘is so controlled by
special interests and partisanship that it cannot respond to the country’s
real needs’’; 70 percent agreed (Pollingreport.com, 2004). A 2004 Harris
survey on ‘‘power and influence in Washington’’ found that 83 percent
of respondents said that ‘‘big companies’’ have too much power and
influence; 81 percent said the same of political action committees, and
72 percent for political lobbyists, respectively. Just 18 percent said public
opinion had too much influence, and 72 percent said ‘‘too little’’
(Pollingreport.com, 2004) – responses consistent with results from previous
years.
In a January, 2000, Newsweek survey 58 percent said that ‘‘Good people
being discouraged from running for office by the high costs of campaigns’’
was a major problem for the country, and 57 percent said that ‘‘Political
contributions having too much influence on elections and government
policy’’ was a major problem; for both items only 10 percent responded
‘‘Not much of a problem’’ (Citizens Research Foundation, 2002). ABC
News and the Washington Post asked, in 2001, whether ‘‘politicians do
special favors for people and groups who give them campaign contributions’’;
80 percent said ‘‘yes, often,’’ and 13 percent said ‘‘yes, sometimes.’’
Among those giving either response 67 percent said such favors are ‘‘a big
problem.’’ In that same group an interesting contrast emerged: 74 percent
judged such favors ‘‘unethical,’’ but only 46 percent saw them as ‘‘illegal,’’
and 48 percent said ‘‘legal’’ (Pollingreport.com, 2004). A significant share
of the population believes the current system fails to prevent, or even
permits, unethical behavior.