WILL OBSCENE RECORD SPENDING ELECT A BETTER GOVERNOR FOR CALIFORNIA ??????????..........

With the Golden State of California, like much of the nation and the world contending with unprecendented financial disaster, due to the economic crisis that persists, the 2010 race for Governor shows how out of sync with current realities leading contenders for the State's top office are. The obscene, (and I use that word as an apt description of what we are witnessing) spending by the candidates to best each other and win a nomination to vie for Governor in November, is astronomical. It is cluttering the airwaves with attack ads and nastyness that tells us very little about how effective the candidates may be as Governor, and more about how much money they possess in personal wealth and their willingness to expend tens of millions of dollars each, upwards of $100 million to date, with nearly three weeks left until Primary Election Day. I argue this is capitalism run amok. High campaign spending can propel a political unknown or a neophyte candidate into a commanding lead in the polls, as candidate identity, and not necessarily their record of accomplishment gains them support. In this race a seemingly inpenetrable fifty point lead fueled by several months of unresponded to spending by one candidate, when answered by the other candidate spending millions more, has shrunk to single digits, serves no one but the candidates, their campaigns, the media, and their political consultants. Better governing and a sound, tested, proven, record meriting nomination or election, and a solid plan to address the real issues and concerns facing California at this very critical time should be te criteria for running and winning. From my youth as a young college student majoring in Political Science and Government, to the present more than three decades later, I have always argued for continuous reform of ALL our institutions and structures. Campaign spending and influence peddling need to be reigned in, so that policy proposals not how much money a candidate collects or expends, determine the leaders we choose to govern and address the maladies confronting us. If the Primary Election for Governor of California on June 8, has already seen these record shattering amounts of mmoney infused, how much more will the General Election this November soar to ? Unless we demand and enact the reform of campaign structures and election spending limits, we risk the further unraveling of our precious California, and allowing the most monied and power seeking to buy their way into one of the highest offices in the land, without revealing anything more than their desire to attain it..........In The Hopeful Spirit Of Reform And Renewal For California, Fr. Troy