Everyone is chewing over the bundler problem -- both in terms of the influence they exert over, and the potential liability they can be to candidates. Some preach better background research on where the money is coming from and some, like the Hartford Courant, counsel more sweeping reform.

From the Courant:

 

If Jack Abramoff, the former Republican lobbyist who pleaded guilty last year to extortion and bribery, is a poster boy for special interests run amok on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hsu's story is about the ethical swamp that lies at the heart of privately financed national political campaigns.

[. . .]

One thing is clear: Mr. Hsu's ascendancy to the national political stage - despite his brushes with the law and questionable fundraising tactics - is one more example of how the pressure of raising private funds for multimillion-dollar campaigns threatens the integrity of the political process.


Power corrupts, but money corrupts with absolute power. America needs a workable system for public campaign financing.

You really can't police this stuff to death. Look at how many members of Congress are under investigation for improper dealings with campaign donors -- has that changed the pace of fundraising? And do we really want our candidates -- whose schedules are already dominated by fundraising -- to devote even more resources to screening donors. Our public officials shouldn't be in the law enforcement business, they should be in the public service business. The only way to get there is to move towards a full public financing system.