Where are the good guys when we need them? While the public interest groups fiddle, campaign finance reform burns.

• Author: Cottle, Michelle
• Position: Includes related article on campaign finance reform bills - Cover Story

Members of the Clinton administration boast that their boss has done more to promote the cause of campaign finance reform than president in recent history. Perhaps. But staffers who point to Clinton's use of the bully pulpit as evidence of his reform commitment mistake his real contribution: the fantastic fund-raising scandal now on display in room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building. Here, beneath the watchful gazes of Sen. Fred Thompson and Co., witnesses relate hair-raising tales of convoluted financial shell-games rigged to funnel vast sums of special interest money into the coffers of our major political parties -- and that's just the legal stuff.

Indeed, we may well owe this country's First Fund-raiser a debt of gratitude. History suggests that, with an issue as dear to Congress members' heart -- sand careers -- as campaign finance, it takes a good old-fashioned scandal to get the ball rolling. And despite the media's decree that the Senate hearings are too boring for TV, the partisan bickering and finger-pointing that flavor the proceedings have kept the campaign finance issue in the daily papers.

The investigation also has politicians both past and present coming forward to decry the existing system. In late July, former Presidents Bush, Carter, and Ford jointly issued a public plea for congressional action on campaign reform. Former political luminaries Walter Mondale and Nancy Kassebaum-Baker have been stumping around the country since March, drumming up public support for the issue. Meanwhile, back on the Hill, more than 70 campaign finance bills have been introduced as legislators rush to appear on the virtuous side of the debate. Foremost among these reformers are Senators John McCain (R-Ariz) and Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.). Hoping to take advantage of the scandal and its resultant buzz, the two veteran crusaders for reform have vowed to bring their long-debated bill to the floor this month. President Clinton has issued a statement of "strong support" for the senators' efforts.

Clearly, now is the moment for campaign finance reform supporters to join forces, sound the trumpets, and storm, not only the Hill, but also every congressional office in the country. However, those listening for the distant footfall of the troops are likely to be disappointed. Administration insiders say the noises they hear emanating from the activist community sound more like discordant babbling than a coordinated roar for reform.

"At this point, I don't see much happening from the public interest groups," confirms Leonard Weiss, Democratic staff director for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. "They seem slightly invisible. I just don't see their effectiveness, and it really pains me. I want them to be effective."

Correction. This country needs them to be effective. Campaign finance reform may be the defining public interest issue of our time. Even assuming there was no insidious Chinese plot to buy U.S. political influence, the antics of Charlie Trie, the Young Brothers, and John Huang add flesh to the bones of what we suspected all along: Rather than devoting their time -- and the tax dollars that pay their salaries -- to saving Medicare or Social Security, our elected officials spend their days dialing for dollars. (A process, it seems, that now requires knowledge of the international calling codes for Jakarta, Beijing, and Hong Kong) And whether the funds are foreign or domestic, designed to snag a morning cup of coffee with Bill Clinton or an afternoon of bill-drafting with Tom DeLay, the real scandal remains the same: The American public is getting ripped off thanks to a campaign system that bestows enormous influence upon moneyed special interests, while turning our national leaders into high-class panhandlers. What's more, as the fund-raising frenzy escalites, an increasing number of talented men and women, recognizing that perpetual begging is no way to spend a career, are opting out of public service, ceding the field to candidates whose primary talent is money-grubbing. When liquidity becomes the primary qualification for elected leadership -- when Michael Huffington, Ross Perot, and Steve Forbes can become serious contenders for national office -- one can only echo that sage former Senate majority leader, presidential contender, and fund-raiser extraordinaire, Bob Dole: Where is the outrage?

Excellent question. With the coming battle on the Hill, why aren't legislators under siege from the likes of Public Citizen, Public Campaign, Citizen Action, U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), and, the granddaddy of them all, Common Cause? If the public is, as reform opponents claim, suffering from political malaise or resigned disgust, the public interest community should be laboring nonstop to get John Q. Public mobilized for the fight. Why then are we seeing so little coordinated action from the people who have made this type of crusade their life's work?

Those involved with the campaign reform movement say the answer lies with the activists themselves. While passionate about reforming the system, the groups are hindered in their effort to fight the good fight by a number of internal factors: tactical errors, general disorganization, and a liberal dose of plain old infighting.

The result: "Campaign finance reform is a long shot this year," predicts Weiss. "I just don't...