When asked about his bid for the Democratic nomination for the third Congressional district, Jon Kaiman said he was spending most of his time raising money and getting petitions signed.
Before he announced his bid for the Republican nominal for the third Congressional district, Jack Martins said he first needed to determine if he could raise the money needed to wage a campaign in a district that stretches from Whitestone, Queens, across the North Shore in Nassau County to Kings Park in Suffolk County.
Kaiman is a former judge, Town of North Hempstead supervisor, chairman of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s point man for Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.
Martins is a sitting state senator and the former mayor of Mineola.
But in running for Congress both men placed money, not votes or policy, at the top of their list — despite the strong name recognition each man had in at least part of the district.
They are not alone.
Candidates for Congress whether running for the first time or for re-election talk about the constant need to raise money.
Rep. Steve Israel set off a wild scramble for his congressional seat in January when he announced his decision not to seek re-election despite a leadership position among House Democrats.
At the time, he cited the pressure faced in raising money as well as the toxic atmosphere in Congress.
This pressure is what leads virtually every person in Congress — Democrat or Republican — to face a nearly daily obligation to raise money.
And where do they get that money?
When famed thief Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he said that is where the money is.
Politicians invariably follow Sutton’s insight, seeking donations from wealthy people, unions, and large corporations — including banks.
To believe that this constant need for money from the wealthy and well-connected does not influence how elected officials vote is beyond naive.
The proof is found throughout the federal government — from the tax code to energy policy.
It is why, as billionaire businessman Warren Buffet likes to point out, hedge fund managers making $10 million a year pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, and businessman Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, have both focused on what they call the corrupting influence of money in politics.
Trump has said he is avoiding this influence by self-funding his campaign as well as a high-volume approach to campaigning that has succeeded in garnering him tens of millions of dollars in free media.
Trump’s self-funding claim still open to question and one that will be further challenged if he wins the Republican nomination. Electing billionaires also seems like an odd answer to the problem of the interests of the average person not being represented in Washington.
Sanders has tapped into the internet to receive tens of millions of dollars in small donations.
This is clearly an alternative to traditional fundraising. The question is whether this is practical in races beyond the presidency.
For voters in the third congressional district as well as every other we can only hope so.
What the country needs now is the best Congress we can elect — not the best Congress money can buy.
