Campaign Finance Reform : Central Meaning and a New Approach

Campaign finance reform protects the integrity of the American political governmental process. But, campaign finance reform measures have not been analyzed with this understanding. The republican form of government-the heart of American governance-reflects a principle of power derived from the people. In the modem American republic, this power is entrusted to elected representatives in a central government, acting in the best interest of the people. The overwhelming power of money in the political process threatens this unique system of government. The states and federal government have responded to this problem with campaign finance reform, in order to reduce the power of money in politics, and to make candidates and elected officials more directly responsive to the people. Campaign finance reform thus can protect the republican form of government upon which the nation was founded. The United States Constitution established a republican form of government and put it front and center. In addition to the republican structure of the federal government itself, the Guarantee Clause of the United States Constitution contains an affirmative obligation to ensure this form operates in the states: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government."' Particularly since 1849 and Luther v. Borden,2 when the Supreme Court held Guarantee Clause claims to be nonjusticiable political questions, the Clause has been lost in a judicial vacuum