This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 6, 2011 - He may play a conservative TV executive on "30 Rock," but Alec Baldwin styles himself as a liberal reformer in real life. The actor took his activism for campaign-finance reform to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to back a bill sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
"Here in Washington, those with money and access to money get attention and results from politicians, and average Americans are left to live with the consequences," said Baldwin, who worked as an congressional intern when he was a student. "It's time to reduce the influence of corporate lobbyists and special interest money."
Baldwin endorsed a campaign finance bill -- the Fair Elections Now Act -- sponsored by Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, and Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., that would create a voluntary system to give congressional candidates the option of matching contributions from a new fund if they agree to limit their campaign fundraising to the sums raised from small donors. Cosponsors include 11 senators and 46 House members.
"Americans would be shocked if they knew how much time members of Congress and candidates seeking office must spend dialing for dollars and attending fundraisers," Durbin told a packed news conference in the Capitol. He will chair a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the legislation on Tuesday.
Durbin, who invited actress Geena Davis to testify at a Senate hearings last fall on a gender discrimination treaty, is no stranger to Hollywood himself: He portrays a senator chairing a hearing in an upcoming action-thriller film called "Contagion."
Baldwin, who has worked for campaign reform initiatives in Maine and Massachusetts, said the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" ruling last year -- which held that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections -- "threw open the door to obscene amounts of money from corporations, unions, billionaires and other special interests. Now they're allowed to spend an unlimited amount of money to influence federal elections."
Denouncing what he called the "corrosive" campaign system, Larson said the Fair Elections bill "would put Congress back in the hands of ordinary Americans." The legislation, similar to an unsuccessful 2009 bill, would set up a voluntary system under which qualifying candidates -- those who agree to fundraising limits and to raise money in small sums -- would receive grants and matching funds to run their campaigns.
No individual would be allowed to give more than $100 to a campaign, and donations of $100 or less would be matched on a 5-to-1 basis until a specified level is reached. Above that limit, candidates could continue to accept small contributions with no match.
Under the current campaign finance system, most candidates rely on large donations of $2,500 apiece from individual donors and $5,000 from political action committees.
"Our bill will give candidates the opportunity to focus on dealing with our nation's problems, not on chasing after campaign cash," Durbin said.