John Doolittle

John Doolittle, a Republican, represents California’s fourth district in the House of Representatives. He is the sponsor of the Citizen Legislature and Political Freedom Act, which he describes in the following viewpoint. His proposed legislation would repeal all restrictions on campaign contributions and enable people to give as much money as they wished to political candidates, while providing for full public disclosure of all contributions. Such an approach is superior to greater federal restrictions and regulations advocated by other campaign finance reformers, he contends. He disputes the contentions that too much money is spent campaigning and that members of Congress are corrupted by campaign gifts.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What four false assumptions underlie the drive for greater federal regulation of elections, according to Doolittle?
2. What did...