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August 10, 1997
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 The investigation is big news in Washington, but how's it playing around the country.  The Online Explainers take your question on the investigation.  The NewsHour's coverage of the Congressional Investigation.  The inside stories on the political fight behind the public investigation.  A closer look at the issues really under scrutiny by the Congress.
|  The knee jerk reaction of any political activist is to rally around the loyalists and firmly make clear that no political ideology can be judged by one set of actions. I have been a loyalist, and I too have seen the realities of the Republican money machine, but the current glimpse into the world of cash and our democracy deserves only one response -- shame. Proud, intelligent leaders of all parties are being reduced to political pimps, selling anything that is not nailed down and mocking those who protest as naive.
One thing is certain, the Democrats should be doubly shameful because we joined in the "politics of price" to balance the playing field and instead we achieved the loss of the moral high ground, and for 200 million dollars less. The current round of PAC reforms were aimed at getting the money up on the table, so at least we could see who was giving to whom. Instead, what reform prompted was an air of acceptability that said no voter dissatisfaction could justify not taking all the money you could put your hands on.
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I personally am reaching a place where I may not be able to vote for anyone who does not promise campaign finance reform, day one. I will never be a millionaire and so I feel very strongly that the money changers have more directly undermined the importance in my vote more than any constitutional amendment ever could.