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FIXED_NATURE

                                             January 18, 2012

Lessig's analysis (that
campaign finance reform is         LONG_SHOT
not just neeeded, but the one
key thing that's needed right
now) seems to assume certain
features of the character of        And despite the fact
the American public are fixed       that I'm being critical
in place.                           of this, it's hard to
                                    see how you can proceed
For example, he appears to          without doing things
take it as an article of            like this-- certainly I
faith that big money will           do sometimes.
always swing an election.
                                         Shove human nature
That's common knowledge,                 into a black box
but if it's inevitable,                  and keep it there?
if that's the best we
can do, doesn't it call                              BLACKBOX
into question the
Democratic process as a
whole?

   The American people:
   flighty, ignorant,
   with the attention
   spans of a flea.

   We just need to accept   Lessig's idea is that
   that and come up with    we're all going to
   a system that works      collectively agree to     In San Francisco's
   with it?                 a constitutional          local elections, I
                            convention to restrain    won't vote for anyone
                            campaign spending...      with lots of signs
                            If we can do that, why    posted high up on the
                            can't we just             telephone poles...
                            collectively agree to
                            avoid candidates with       If they've got the
                            a lot of money?             cash to hire the
                                                        workers to do that,
                            Maybe: the set of           you don't want them
                            people likely to pay        in office.
                            attention to an
                            initiative about              I'm not alone
                            finance reform is             in this, and
                            more clued in than            yet the well
                            the set that is               funded candi-
                            likely to care about          dates continue
                            the superbowl: the            to have an edge.
                            presidential
                            election.                       BIG_BAD

                               Or maybe: when people
                               vote for finance
                               reform, they're
                               thinking about all
                               those *other* suckers
                               out there who are
                               going to be swayed by
                               slick campaign ads.









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