Can I get a Big Mac, an order of campaign finance reform and a large coke?

Three legislators from Mississippi recently proposed a bill to prohibit restaurants from serving fat people. Apparently the purpose of this bill is to fight obesity, which is kind of like trying to stop people from smoking pot by banning the sale of munchies to people who are stoned. Or like using campaign finance reform to stop corrupt politicians.

While lawmakers in Mississippi or trying to stop fat people from buying Whoppers, in Missouri we are trying to stop fat cats from buying politicians. Missouri legislators pretend they can do this through campaign finance laws, a favorite tool of politicians to make the voters think their elected representatives are doing something. Politicians who favor reform argue, in the words of State Representative Jeff Smith D-St. Louis, that "we don't want government to be auctioned off to the highest bidder." This is an interesting statement in that the "we" Smith is talking about obviously includes him, while the "government" includes those unnamed government officials who can be bought.

This type of statement is typical of the "honest" reformers who want to limit the ability of wealthy individuals and businesses to corrupt their "dishonest" colleagues. However, I have yet to see a campaign finance reform law that donors and donees have not found a way around and that does not even consider the more direct forms of bribery. And make no mistake about it, when Smith talks about auctioning government off to the highest bidder, he is claiming there is a problem with bribery. While I agree with Mr. Smith's assessment of the problem, his solution of campaign finance reform ignores the direct solution, prosecutions.

Making politicians get their money under the table isn't going to stop corruption anymore than making obese people eat at their tables at home rather that at restaurants is going to cure obesity. Instead what "reformers" like Jeff Smith need to do is start naming names of the corrupt officials they claim to be protecting us from so that the guilty parties can be prosecuted. And while you're at it Mr. Smith, Super Size it.