News-Leader editorial: Keep contribution limits, eliminate loopholes

An editorial in today's Springfield News-Leader criticizes the push to remove campaign contribution limits in the name of "transparency:"

There was — and still is — a need for transparency in Missouri's election process, but the problem has never been the contribution limits. It's the back door that makes those limits obsolete. Before the last legislative session, Missouri had a system that allowed contributors to bypass limits and give nearly unregulated sums to a variety of political committees. Those committees would then pass money around like Halloween candy and make it next to impossible for average citizens to see who is funding campaigns.

Lawmakers rightly closed that back door last legislative session, but they mistakenly tied the issue to the contribution limits.

That was absolutely unnecessary.

This year, they should do the job right.

Lawmakers can do a few things to improve Missouri's election process. They can increase the amount of transparency by making contributions from political committees illegal. And if they believe the current limits are too low, they can raise them to a more reasonable number, while recognizing that Missourians don't want unlimited cash flowing into state campaign coffers. Finally, lawmakers can adopt a more transparent system that requires all donations to be posted online with the Missouri Ethics Commission, and they can add real penalties for those candidates who buck the system.

Elections in Missouri should not be bought by deep out-of-state pockets, and Missouri voters should be able to easily follow the money trail to see who is supporting their candidates. Missouri's system can and should be better. Lawmakers should make it happen.