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an independent newspaper EDITORIALS
Presidential Public Financing 2.0 A proposal to fix the system in time for 2012 D
URING THE 2008 campaign, when Ba- rack Obama became the first candidate to abandon presidential public financing completely and run on private funds en-
tirely, his argument was that the system was bro- ken and he would work on fixing it in office. “I am firmly committed to reforming the system as president, so that it’s viable in today’s campaign climate,” Mr. Obama said at the time. Well, now’s a good time for the president to make good on that pledge.
A measure to update the presidential public fi- nancing system to account for the costs of modern campaigning and the new fundraising mechanisms of the Internet age has just been introduced in Congress — in the Senate by Wis- consin Democrat Russell Feingold and in the House by Reps. David E. Price (D-N.C.), Michael N. Castle (R-Del.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Todd R. Platts (R-Pa.). Though it may seem odd to be worrying about the 2012 campaign when the 2010 votes haven’t even been cast, the legislative and practical reality is that the new mechanisms have to be debated and implemented well in advance of the actual campaign. Otherwise the can will get kicked down the road to another cam-
A summer’s
warming Scorching signs of a troubled environment
sia’s core, igniting runaway wildfires around the capital and coating it with a thick, gray cloud that is finally beginning to clear. The daily death count doubled during the heat wave, filling up Moscow’s morgues. Meanwhile, a monsoon sys- tem has deluged northern Pakistan; the tor- rential rains have caused floods that reportedly affected some 6 million people. And in America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration announced Friday that, so far, 2010 is the hottest year on record. Which makes us wonder: Where is that reso- lute climate-change skeptic Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.)? During this year’s record snows in Washington, he posted pictures on his Facebook page of his family building an igloo in front of the Capitol building and attaching a sign that read, “AL GORE’S NEW HOME” and “HONK IF YOU WGLOBAL WARMING.” The Inhofes were hard- ly alone in mocking those concerned about cli- mate change during the snowy winter. Conserva- tive politicians and pundits gleefully attacked cli- mate legislation, buried under “12 inches of global warming,” as Virginia’s GOP sarcastically put it.
M
Depressingly, they seemed to be right about one thing: The winter weather may have encour- aged such know-nothingism, as polls showed in- creasing numbers of Americans doubting the sci- entific consensus on climate change. Demagogu- ery of this kind helped make it all but impossible to pass a sensible climate bill this year as key Re- publicans deserted the cause. But now Washington is scorching and Moscow is choking. Of course, one cannot claim with cer- tainty that the general warming of the planet is directly responsible for particular episodes of ex- treme weather. The proximate cause of both Mos- cow’s heat and Pakistan’s floods is a halted jet stream that parked undesirable weather systems over these areas, and it’s not clear that climate change would increase the frequency of such “blocking events.” It is likely, however, that climate change will
nevertheless result in more severe weather — heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, snowstorms and other dangerous weather events — even if not by an identical mechanism. Higher tem- peratures may also make natural disasters with unrelated causes more destructive. At the least, the events in Moscow and Pakistan serve as examples of the sorts of thing that scientists predict will happen more often in regions unprepared to cope, underscoring why people must take seriously the risks associated with continuing to pump carbon into Earth’s atmosphere.
Whitman-Walker’s turnaround Rumors of the clinic’s impending demise were greatly exaggerated.
W
HEN LAST WE wrote about the travails of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the fu- ture was not bright. Its finances were in shambles. Services had been discontin-
ued. Facilities in Virginia and Maryland had been closed. Buildings were sold. And it was embroiled in a fight with City Council member David A. Cata- nia (I-At Large), who was concerned that its finan- cial stewardship was faltering and that the institu- tion, established in 1978, was running away from its core constituency — gay men and lesbians. That was the picture in May 2009. Fifteen months later, the health center — which grew out of the Gay Men’s STD Clinic, which opened in 1973 and re- mains a cultural hub for the gay community — is showing strong signs of revival. Whitman-Walker, which ran $4 million deficits in 2007 and 2008, is forecasting $18.5 million in revenue and a surplus of $360,000 when 2010 draws to a close. Money from third-party sources, such as Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies, has more than doubled, from $1.38 million in 2007 to $3.2 million in 2009. Even the AIDS Walk exceeded the organization’s fundrais- ing goal for 2009.
One decision that is helping to move Whitman-
Walker from the red to the black is the move to be- come a community health center, providing every- thing from primary care to dental and mental health services regardless of HIV status. This gives the organization access to federal Medicaid dollars and positions it to take advantage of the expansion of Medicaid coverage that will come in 2014 as part of the health-care reform law. That means a less- ened reliance on donor contributions, which have shrunk in the current recession. What this does not mean is a retreat from HIV/AIDS care. Of Whitman-Walker’s 8,500 patients last year, 35 per- cent are HIV-positive. HIV-related medical visits accounted for 60 percent of the traffic through the clinic. Chief Executive Donald Blanchon was hired by the Whitman-Walker board in 2006 to turn the struggling clinic around. Slowly, Mr. Blanchon has made the moves necessary to ensure that the doors stay open and that care continues to be dispensed to all who need it. “We’re definitely going to sur- vive,” Mr. Blanchon told us. “Now, can we sustain it?” We are more confident than ever that the an- swer is yes.
OSCOW MAY NOT have seen so much smoke since the city burned to the ground around Napoleon. A record- shattering heat wave has choked Rus-
paign cycle. The proposal differs dramatically from the ex- isting system, adopted in the wake of the Wa- tergate scandal. The old system imposed what turned out to be unrealistically low spending caps for the primary and general election campaigns on candidates who chose to accept public fund- ing. The new version would eliminate the spend- ing ceiling altogether. The old system matched the first $250 from a private contributor with the same amount in public funds. The new version would increase the matching rate in a way that encourages small donors. Contributions of $200 or less — and that is the total amount the candi- date can receive from that donor — would be matched 4 to 1 by public funds. Primary candidates who want to obtain public funds — they could get up to $100 million — would have to pledge not to take contributions greater than $1,000, instead of the current limit, $2,400. General election candidates would re- ceive a $50 million grant and would be eligible to collect another $150 million in matching funds on contributions of $200 or less, although they could accept donations as large as $500. The funding — $1.1 billion for a four-year cycle — would come
from increasing the voluntary tax checkoff from the current $3 to $10 per individual and from $6 to $20 per household. Getting this done in time for 2012 will be a hard
sell. Mr. Obama raised an astonishing $746 mil- lion for his primary and general election cam- paigns. Overall, spending was 80 percent higher in the 2008 presidential campaign than four years earlier. Much of this money came from small donors giving over the Internet. This is a terrific development that the proposal would only encourage. But bundlers of big checks continued to play an outsized role in fundraising. The fewer $1 million bundlers a president is beholden to, the healthier the system. Moreover, in 2008 Re- publican nominee John McCain was at a serious financial disadvantage in the face of the Obama juggernaut; the financing proposal would not completely level the playing field, but it would make it easier for less well-known or well-funded candidates to compete. It may not be in Mr. Obama’s political interest
to fix a system that worked terrifically for him as is. But it would be in the public interest — and consistent with what then-candidate Obama promised to work for if elected.
TOM TOLES
SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
dletters@washpost.com
Overcoming fear at Ground Zero
Like that of many Americans, my reaction to hear- ing of plans for a mosque near Ground Zero in New York was viscerally negative. It has been a challenge since Sept. 11 not to paint Islam with a broad stroke. The raw political nerve that the topic strikes is obvi- ous and powerful. And as a Christian, I have issues with a few of Islam’s tenets and practices. But then I think of some of the devout Muslims whom I have encountered and of the recognizably Christ-like disposition that their faith inspires. De- pending on whom one listens to, the imam behind the proposed Islamic center and mosque is either a terrorist provocateur or a moderate bridge-builder. Evidence suggests the latter. Though it may be psy- chically gratifying, opposing the mosque in the name of fighting terrorism or honoring the dead may be equivalent to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. CHRIS FERRERO, Charlottesville
I wonder why the Cordoba Initiative’s organizers planned an Islamic center near Ground Zero rather than an interfaith center if their goal is promoting re- ligious tolerance. It would seem a less contentious choice, given the controversial location. ALISON J. POOLEY, Catonsville, Md.
Ducking a disgusting situation
My family visited Washington in June, and we were appalled by the amount of duck feces on each side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The lack of upkeep that this showed was very degrading to the memorial, not to mention disgusting. I understand there is a duck problem at the Re-
flecting Pool, but with all this “wasteful” spending go- ing on in Washington, I don’t see a problem with us- ing taxpayer dollars for regular cleanup of the waste around the Reflecting Pool. We should keep America beautiful, and this in- cludes cleaning up after animals in a place that me- morializes our leaders. I think even they would be ap- palled at the many ways in which Washington is go- ing to the dogs, or in this case, the ducks. LYNNVANCE, Enterprise, W.Va.
Bad behavior on Metro
Regarding Courtland Milloy’s Aug. 11 Metro col- umn, “Metro brawl could’ve been much worse”: Current research has shown that in teenagers (boys especially), the part of the brain that governs reason- ing develops more slowly than the part governing emotions, and the two aren’t in balance until people reach their mid-20s.
Some people argue there would be less violence if
everyone were armed. If everyone had been armed in this situation, Post articles would have been discussing how many people were killed by gunfire in the brawl. Teenage boys do not have enough fear of death to be deterred by the fact that everyone else might be armed. That is why gangs continue to thrive. I am thankful that our gun laws are strong enough that no- body in this brawl was armed, and that we were spared the deaths of many innocent bystanders and the inevi- table ruin of the lives of teenagers who are not yet able to make adult decisions.
THOMASV. BERRY, Alexandria
Having lived in Washington from 1991 until June, I recently returned for a brief visit and came away with the impression that Metro has deteriorated. Traveling the Yellow and Blue lines on Tuesday, I witnessed two fights; three hostile encounters between station per- sonnel and stroller pushers; four food-related throw- ing contests; and five instances of passengers calling each other names. But I also observed what surely must be the latest trend in Metro turmoil: six boys and men weaving around other riders on the platforms of various stations, using bicycles as their preferred con- veyance.
An occasional skateboarder or rollerblader is one
thing, but this strikes me as a prelude to tragedy. What was most distressing was that several instances of this behavior took place in full view of station personnel. Get on board, Metro officials, and do something
quickly, or more deaths are sure to follow. TERRY SCOTTBOYKIE, Seminole, Fla.
The national school standards myth Apparently, like most supporters of national cur-
riculum standards, The Post’s editorial board either hasn’t read or doesn’t care about the research on such standards [“Holding out,” editorial, Aug. 10]. Otherwise, in lambasting Virginia for not signing on to national standards, the editorial would not have said that “the wide variation in state standards . . . has produced poor outcomes.” There is zero mean- ingful evidence of that, just as the research reveals that all other things equal, countries with national standards do no better than those without. Meanwhile, there is a great deal of evidence dem-
onstrating that our problems stem largely from pub- lic schooling being a government monopoly. And the feds bribing states to adopt a national curriculum will only make that problem worse. NEAL P. MCCLUSKEY,Washington
The writer is the associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute.
Investigative commissions’ worth
LOCAL OPINIONS 3Join the debate at
washingtonpost.com/localopinions
The wrong overseer for medical marijuana in D.C. Regarding the Aug. 8 Metro article “Liquor reg-
ulators may help oversee medical marijuana in the District”: The Fenty administration’s plan to place the Al- coholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, rather than the D.C. Health Department, in charge of the medical marijuana program is flawed and should be reconsidered. This proposal contravenes the design and intent of the law passed unanimously by the D.C. Council, and the 1998 initiative ap- proved by 69 percent of District voters, which en- visions a pharmacy model for dispensing medical marijuana to seriously and terminally ill patients. The Health Department is best suited to reg-
ulate and monitor dispensaries to ensure that qualified patients such as people living with HIV/ AIDS or cancer have safe and affordable access to medical marijuana. It is also equipped to identify potentially harmful effects of medical marijuana
in patients and provide referrals for substance abuse treatment if needed. The ABC Board, by contrast, regulates bars, nightclubs and liquor stores. It lacks the experi- ence and institutional knowledge to address com- plex health issues and the needs of the District’s patients. It is also a politically unwise choice to manage the program. When a new Congress takes office in January, medical marijuana will be a ripe target for social conservatives, and the District’s law could be overturned. Having the ABC Board in charge bolsters the false accusation that D.C.’s medical marijuana effort is not about helping pa- tients but is instead a “stalking horse” for the le- galization of recreational marijuana. WAYNETURNER,Washington
The writer is a longtime AIDS activist and was the sponsor of the 1998 medical marijuana ballot initiative.
ABCDE
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Raymond Smock and Roger Bruns rightly criticized Congress for too often shirking its oversight duties [Outlook, Aug. 8]. But their dismissal of independent commissions was off the mark. The authors asserted that commissions “don’t com- mand the respect that members of Congress receive,” and that the reports of commissions formed during crises typically are filed “away to obscurity.” In fact, the bipartisan and independent character of commissions tends to make them more highly regarded than Con- gress, and commission reports often catalyze impor- tant reforms after crises. Moreover, commissions are sometimes better able than Congress to obtain information from the exec- utive branch. The Sept. 11 commission was more suc- cessful than the congressional Sept. 11 probe in gain- ing cooperation from the Bush administration because it used its powerful political credibility to place the ad- ministration on the defensive. Yes, Congress should vigorously investigate the BP oil spill, but the presidential commission on the spill might be our best hope for delivering a definitive ac- count of the disaster and prodding Congress to require significant changes in offshore drilling practices. JORDANTAMA,Washington
The writer is an assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service.
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