Duin: Putting a stake in the heart of the status quo

Steve Duin has a nice take on CFR in his column today.

Forty-seven of our 50 states have placed limits on political campaign contributions, believing it is possible to constrain the corrosive impact of money on elective politics without restricting free speech.

Oregon is one of the three holdouts, the state Supreme Court having decreed that when it comes to political contributions and live sex acts on stage, anything goes.

Activist Dan Meek tried to remedy that in 2006, so confounding the voters that they approved limits on contributions (Measure 47) while rejecting the amendment to the Oregon Constitution (Measure 46) that would make those limits possible.

Duin notes that all three Secretary of State candidates claim to support a constitutional amendment that would make contribution limits legal in Oregon, though notably, Kate Brown has been chair of the elections and rules committee in several sessions where bills limiting campain contributions have gone to di.

Read Duin's full column at the Oregonian