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Very sad to hear that we lost Buddy Roemer today.
Buddy was a reformer Republican. In 2011, as a former congressperson and former governor (Lousiana), he determined to run for President, emphasizing the corruption of Congress, and the problem of money in politics. We needed, as he put it, a government “free to lead.” But we wouldn’t have that so long as politicians spent all their time raising money. As I described his campaign in Republic, Lost (2011):
Roemer has focused his campaign on a single issue: the role of money in politics. He has committed to taking no more than $100 from anyone. He will take no PAC contributions. He will disclose every contribution regardless of the amount to any organization that wants to audit. “Free to Lead” is the slogan of his campaign. And his promise is to leverage the mandate he would receive into a demand to change Congress.
In launching his campaign, Roemer embraced four principles that must guide any legislation designed to restore independence to Congress. As he described these principles in a lecture at Harvard:
First, no system for funding campaigns should try to silence anyone or any view. This was the kernel of truth in the Court’s Citizens United decision. The fact that it is a corporation that…
