| ► Texas Kaos – 06/09/09 - Pay to play politics and buying politicians Texas style |
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Texas Kaos – 06/09/09 - Pay to play politics and buying politicians Texas style Comment by John Cobarruvias of Houston
This is outrageous," said John Cobarruvias of Houston, a Democratic Party activist who monitors campaign finance reports in his spare time. "There is so much influence peddling in Austin."
Cobarruvias said in addition to watchdog groups like Texans for Public Justice, people like himself and David Palmer, a California resident who has exposed other officials in Texas and across the nation, are exposing the influence of big money and the misuse of campaign funds among some elected officials because the state government is unwilling to police itself.
Instead of the Ethics Commission, which he calls worthless because it seldom investigates officials accused of wrongdoing, the state ought to have a citizen ethics commission, like one in Colorado, with the authority to investigate the misuse of funds or set limits to campaign contributions, Cobarruvias said.
But some lawmakers don't see any campaign finance reforms approved anytime soon.
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