Campaign Finance: When you cannot follow the money... .

When you cannot follow the money behind hundreds of millions of dollars paid for election campaign ads on TV, radio, in the newspapers and the daily mail, you know the following:

• There are people and institutions that are willing to spend a great deal of money to get their candidates elected.
• These contributors do not want the public to know who they are.
• Even the shareholders of public companies cannot learn to whom and how much their companies are contributing.

Some concerns arise:

• Are the institutions using their funds in an attempt to "buy" the government?
• Do these anonymous donors have a secret agenda of which even the recipients of their largess are unaware?
• Since the donors are anonymous, is it possible foreign institutions, even foreign governments are trying to influence the U. S. elections?
• Many of the ads contain inaccuracies and out and out lies that only the well informed can discern.

When I, as an individual, contribute over $100 to a candidate's campaign, it always seems to become public. When these huge contributors, hiding behind so called charitable institutions, contribute millions, they appear able to do so without public fanfare.

This does not feel like American voters are engaged on an even playing field.