The New York Times is urging the House of Representatives to heed the warning of the "black-hat and easy-money grin of Jack Abramoff" and take action on "bundling," the harvesting of individual donations into a larger package that can curry favor with a lawmaker.
Bundling is making a quid-pro-quo trading floor of the hustings. Disclosure by no means interferes with free speech, as opponents complain. Nor is the right to petition government sullied by another proposed requirement to disclose who is really paying for phony "grass roots" issue campaigns. These are ad splurges ginned up by lobbyists in Washington and planted as ersatz vox pop in the districts of targeted lawmakers. Spelling out their provenance is a boon, not a hindrance, to well-informed voting.
It's hard to imagine the Congressmen needing even more reasons to enact real reforms, but if they still need convincing, the Times editorial says, look no further than the recent events surrounding Reps. John Doolittle (R-CA) and Rick Renzi (R-AZ) and their "suspected special-interest machinations." After all, we're reminded, "Last November's voters are still watching for something better than business as usual."
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