Ben Wilcox
Ben Wilcox
current political power process question
It (the current system) is a question of who's in power and who is able to use the process for political purposes.
loss voters
It's a loss for the voters of Florida.
campaign committees finance giving help hoping interests people power return special typical wealthy
It's kind of typical campaign finance in Florida. You find these wealthy special interests who are giving to committees and candidates, people with power to help them. . . . They're doing it as an investment, hoping for a return on their investment.
committee disclose intent law money parties require spending
It's kind of troublesome. They're getting around the intent of the law to require that parties and committee disclose what they're spending their money on.
committed election however issue lee pass senator sign top tough willing
It's going to come down to however much Senator Lee is willing to make this a top priority. It's a tough issue to pass in an election year. But every sign I've seen, Senator Lee is committed to making it a priority.
ability gather groups initiative process shows shut
It shows their real intent, which is to shut down the initiative process and the ability for groups to gather signatures and put something on the ballot.
cynical distract effort fact fairly florida issue process public treated voters
It's a fairly cynical effort on his part to distract the public from what's really the issue and that's the fact that the redistricting process in Florida is broken, and voters aren't being treated fairly.
charge issue partisan power
It's not a partisan issue, it's a power issue - who's in charge at the time.
campaign certainly consumers
Consumers aren't able to make significant campaign contributions - and certainly not in that league.
behind campaigns cost encourage financing hold levels people public
The whole idea behind public financing was to hold down the cost of campaigns and encourage more people to participate. Now they've escalated campaign fund-raising to levels we've never seen.
against battle cancer event fund help hundred raise research year
This exceptional event will help fund research in the battle against cancer. Each year more than a hundred racers come out and raise more than $20,000 in just one day.
meet pay people
People are still going to meet in restaurants. They may just have to pay their own way.
build campaign due potential realistic situation war winning
The most realistic situation could be is that potential challengers don't see the possibility of winning due to the campaign war chests that the incumbents build up.
taxpayer
I don't see why she couldn't make a contribution out of her own pocket. I don't know why she has to use taxpayer money.