The Senate's confirmation of two new members to the Federal Election Commission, one of the most dysfunctional and politically riven agencies in Washington, offers a ray of hope. The work of the commission has been stymied for months thanks to a standoff engineered by obstinate Republicans.
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Voters confused by all the dark-money campaign manipulation triggered by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision deserve relief. The arrival of the two new commissioners could help. They are Ann Ravel, a Democrat known for strong enforcement of California's cutting-edge campaign laws, and Lee Goodman, a Republican considered one of the capital's more knowledgeable campaign finance lawyers. Both are promising a fresh outlook and the hope that the commission will face up to its most basic responsibilities.
The six-member panel, split evenly between the parties, is supposed to serve as a vigorous campaign referee, but politicians exploit its inertia. Its worst failure has been its inability to write new campaign regulations to require full disclosure of contributions by deep-pocketed corporate and union donors, as envisioned by the Citizens United ruling. The Supreme Court said in that case that disclosure would allow citizens to "see whether elected officials are 'in the pocket' of so-called moneyed interests."
The in-the-pocket risk of corruption grows as the dark-money machines become even more aggressive. Secret money totaled more than $1 billion last year, with a greater torrent already building for the next election cycle. Voters need to be able to track scheming donors. And that can happen only if the new commissioners can bring the agency back to life.
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