Cleaning the Congressional Stables
(Little more needed than the headline! 
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'The House Democratic class of ’19 is planning a major push on voting, ethics and campaign finance reform. All that stands in the way is the Senate.
From petty grifting to allegations of treason, the early Trump era has offered a survey course in how to diminish public faith in democratic institutions. All signs are that the coming years will prove even more instructive.
Which is why it’s crucial for Democratic lawmakers to stay focused on and fired up about their emerging, much-hyped crusade to clean up Washington.
Inspired by the rolling spectacle of Trumpian corruption, Democrats ran hard on a midterm message of reform. They pitched an overhaul of the nation’s political system built around a trio of broad aims: improving access to and the integrity of the voting system, strengthening ethics laws and slashing the influence of big money.
It was a message for the moment. Americans are fed up with feeling that the system is rigged against them — to coin a phrase — and itching for leaders who will unrig it. In a September poll for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, 77 percent of registered voters cited “reducing the influence of special interests and corruption in Washington” as either the “single most” or a “very important” factor in determining their vote for Congress. (Only “the economy” scored higher, with 78 percent.) . .
Cheesy metaphors aside, central to realizing any new universe is one of the package’s boldest measures: a voluntary matching-fund system to multiply the power of small donors. As this system is currently proposed, candidates would receive public matching funds at a six-to-one ratio for donations of up to $200 in exchange for abiding by a lower dollar limit on individual contributions — say, $1,000 rather than the current limit of $2,700.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/31/opinion/editorials/democrats-reform-house.html?
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