Editor,
In my 91 years I have seen two world wars and the deaths of as many as a hundred million people in the struggle between the forces of free democracy and the powers of oppression.
I am very thankful that we Americans, despite so much change, still strive and sacrifice to have a government of, by and for our people.
Each time I see the rows upon rows of gravestones at Arlington or at any military cemetery, I am so thankful for that instinct and that courageous dedication.
But in all my years, I do not think we have faced a more serious threat to our self-governance than at present.
The flood of special interest and corporate money into our election campaigns is turning our government of the people into a government of special and greedy interests.
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Increasingly, the corporations that fund our candidates are international companies owned by people around the world who are hardly the American citizens who should be influencing our elections.
The Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance Reform Bill, the U.S. House of Representatives bill similar to the McCain-Feingold Bill in the Senate, and is perhaps our best and last chance to remove special interest and corporate money from our elections, returning our democracy to its people.
Who on earth in the U.S. House would not do everything possible to remove foreign money from our elections and remove greedy special interest money from our elections?
Well, here is the list of those U.S. Representatives from New Mexico who are dragging their feet on this issue - Heather Wilson and Joe Skeen. They have not signed the "discharge petition," which will move the bill into debate.
I'm sure these representatives salute the flag when they go by it, but they need to do much more than that if our notion of a great and self-governing people is to survive.
It is all on their shoulders now, and we must all call them at the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, to remind them of their duty, as they seem to be dragging their feet.
If they could see the history I have seen, they would not be so hesitant to guard the most sacred principles of our freedom.
Doris Haddock,
Haddock is the author of "Granny D: Walking Across America in My 90th Year." She walked 3,200 miles across the U.S. in 1999 and 2000 to
support campaign finance reform.
