Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin dropped by the Big Tent today. Durbin is the champion and co-author with Sen. Arlen Specter of the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act (S.1285), the bill to create a full public financing system for U.S. Senate races. The average Senate winner spent $9.6 million in 2006, and as Durbin likes to point out, it cost an average of over $7 million to lose a Senate race last cycle.

Durbin spoke to bloggers and other media but I caught him on his way out. I thanked him for his leadership on public financing. True to form, he ignored the praise and spoke of the work to be done. With a hostile Supreme Court on the campaign finance front, Durbin was unfazed. "We still need to do this," he said, regardless of the Court. "I don't think we're sunk, not at all."

With folks like Sen. Ken Salazar saying we need to do something on campaign finance reform, and Durbin and Specter in the lead, 2009 is shaping up to be a big and critical year to move forward in changing how we finance federal elections.

Day Two at the Big Tent started sleepily, but the place is hopping now.  Sen. Ken Salazar stopped by and did a long round through the place -- including a short hello with Bob Edgar (see the pic).

I caught Salazar on his way out (no picture) and introduced myself.

Before I could get out my question, "Will you support public financing for Congress?" Salazar cut me off: "Common Cause! Campaign finance reform.  I want to do something about campaign finance reform," he said.  A little surprised, I thanked him, said we're working on public financing, and handed him a flyer about the Fair Elections Now Act.  Getting a moderate Senator like Salazar on board would be terrific for our prospects to pass the bill next Congress.

Check out the footage of Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher attempting to talk to attendees of a swanky AT&T sponsored party last night.

AT&T's name is littered across both the DNC and RNC party lists as a host of lavish receptions as well as a major donor to both conventions' Host Committees.  AT&T has a lot at stake in Congress in 2009.  Smells wrong.

Earlier today I sat in on a panel at the Big Tent on climate change.  Featured among the panelists was Robert Kennedy Jr., along with Prof. David Orr and others.

While the conversation focused on global warming and the policy solutions--capping carbon emissions, ending the subsidies for fossil fuels like coal and gas, investing in renewables, and strengthening our electric grid--the panelists were in agreement and a couple, including Kennedy, got into the political reasons why we haven't made progress on virtually any of those fronts.

I'm spending the week in Denver at the site of the Democratic National Convention, along with several other Common Cause staff.  We're helping to lead a full day on media and democracy issues at the Big Tent, home of bloggers, independent media, and other activists, which you can view through a live web feed.

We'll also be watch dogging the many lavish parties to see who's trying to buy access and influence with lawmakers, and contributing to the Party Time blog of the Sunlight Foundation.  We'll be urging candidates to sign the Voters First Pledge for public financing of elections and to Recapture the Flag by committing to restore the rule of law and the Constitution.

Keep an eye out here for updates from Denver.  Here's one to start off, with a quick look back to a week ago.

One of the hopes of the Citizens Election Program is that more people will participate - more  candidates, greater diversity, fewer unopposed races, more citizens getting involved in the process.   Another hope is that the races will be competitive.  Connecticut's primaries are over, and we can get a glimpse of how public financing is working.  Connecticut is the land of steady habits.   In our case, steady habits have meant that over the past several decades, incumbents in the legislature are among the safest in the nation.  While that can work well in many cases where the incumbents do a great job, democracy thrives on competition.  If incumbents feel too safe, they can lost their sense of being accountable to the people they represent.  Healthy competition insures that candidates strive for re-election, and spend time with their constituents.

How has the Citizens Election program faired over the first batch of primaries?  Quite well, it would appear.  Normally Connecticut sees at most a dozen primaries in the legislative races.  This year there were 18.  While incumbents remained somewhat safe, one challenger prevailed in Bridgeport, and several party endorsed candidates were defeated.  As well, the number of unopposed races has dropped fairly dramatically.  According to numbers from the Secretary of State's office show the number dropping from 71 unopposed races in 2006, to 60 this year.  At least 70% of the candidates running in Connecticut will use the program, and many of them have indicated overall satisfaction with the Citizens Election Program so far.

I've spoken with at least five candidates who said they never would have thought of running for office if CEP weren't available.  From single moms and retired bankers, to a retired cop living in the poorest of neighborhoods, folks from all walks of life are stepping up and offering their skills and ideas to the people of Connecticut.  Many candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, are thrilled with the time they have free from fundraising that they can spend attending community events and walking neighborhoods.  People who are facing tight budgets can give five dollars to their candidate and know they made a real difference.  

It's summer time and the living in easy.  But not in Connecticut.  In Connecticut, Democracy is hard at work.