The Democrats say the addiction is killing the body, but seek more and more of what is killing it. That's 15 years of income for many American families. In the power alleys of Washington, D.C., it's a front-row seat at a barbecue and fresh access to power for the fat cats. The average modern politician owes a lot of his or her existence to the ability to buy TV time in election years. To ask people in this system to deny preference to those bearing millions is to defy basic human nature.
Money buys access, and access begets action.
It's as sure as George Washington's face on dollar bills. And this town is awash in them. The soft-money hauls by the two parties already have broken records, six months before the election. The man who vowed in 1992 to clean up the old politics has become the poster boy for the political cash game. The Republicans have no such pretenses.