PAC’s and Special Interest Lobbyists spend over $10 million a day per The Examiner (4/29/10) to secure their wishes with Congresspeople. And, it is this quid pro quo system which has, in part, corrupted the total “representative republic” the Founders had in mind. PAC’s and Lobbyists wine, dine and gift their favorites while contributing heavily to the campaign funds of sympathetic elected officials. In addition, because it is virtually impossible untangle the inter-relationships between PAC’s, their donors and other profit and non-profit organizations which also contribute heavily to getting their agendas into the public forum, the amounts of money are staggering and more than individual donors could ever overcome.

In our own Congressional District Race, Rick Larsen, the Democrat incumbent has over 64.64 percent of his funding from these PAC’s and Special Interest Lobbyists v. 34.88 percent from individual donors like you and me. One of his opponents, John Koster, has only 2.6 percent from PAC’s v. 97.31 percent from individual donors. Representative republics require the participation by a knowledgeable electorate.

While sometimes it is more efficient to donate to a PAC in order for the PAC to make larger contributions to campaigns, many PAC’s are not voluntary at all. Many are the result of Union and other special interest group participation with mandatory dues/fees requirements for its members. So, while you may pay dues to the, for example, Washington Education Association, which used to be a “professional” organization before it became a full blown union, you will have no voice into whose campaign those funds will go.

If you are concerned at all about the loyalty of our candidates to the people, I would advise that you educate yourself on where their campaign funds are originating as this would be a huge first step in insuring that they represent the “people” and not the Special Interest Groups.

Catherine Paxton

Arlington