Elected Official of the Week: John Yarmuth

Politicians have a tendency to make me angry, this week this one didn't.

The Republican frontrunner for President believes that only the rich should hold elected office, stating that you should "never get involved in politics if you have to win an election to pay a mortgage."  And in a post-Citizen's United world of Super PACs, unlimited campaign contributions, and where money is deemed speech and therefore unregulatable, that may very well soon be true.

Enter Congressman John Yarmuth.  Attempting to solve this threat to the very underpinnings of our democracy, he has authored the "Money Out of Politics" proposed Constitutional Amendment that does three things:

SECTION 1. Financial expenditures, or in kind equivalents, with respect to a candidate for Federal office, without regard to whether or not a communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a specified candidate in the election, shall not constitute protected speech, as guaranteed by this Constitution or any amendment to this Constitution. 

SECTION 2. Congress shall have the power to enact a mandatory public financing system to provide funds to qualified candidates in elections for Federal office, which shall be the sole source of funds raised or spent with respect to Federal elections. 

SECTION 3. Congress shall set forth a legal public holiday for the purposes of voting in regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office.

Put simply, it would give Congress the authority to regulate campaign expenditures and donations, create a mandatory public financing system for Federal elections which would be the sole source of funds for candidates, and would make Election Day a Federal Holiday.  Put even more simply, it would force candidates to run on the issues instead of the size of their campaign war chests and make it easier for people to vote.  In a democracy there can be no more noble cause than that, and so:

Rep. John Yarmuth

is the

Entertained Organizer's Elected Official of the Week