The Democratic presidential candidates are trying to outdo one another with proposals to reform the campaign-finance system. Yet without one vital change, none will make a difference. Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig says that, if elected, he will resign as soon as his reforms are enacted. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley want to appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn the Citizens United decision, which made it easier for corporations to spend money on political campaigns. Clinton has also called for a constitutional amendment overturning high court rulings holding that campaign spending is a form of protected political speech. And she wants to institute a program matching small campaign donations with public funds. So do Lessig, Sanders, and O'Malley, who proposes a 6-to-1 match: six public dollars for every private dollar raised, up to a limit.
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