Public vs Private and Elections

Edwards, Kos and Losing the Battle of Ideas by grannyhelen

All of us who think of ourselves as progressives are at a point right now where we can take back the title of "party of ideas" from the GOP. There is no bigger idea than one that holds that viable public institutions and government intervention can, indeed, not only help real people but they may actually be better solutions than those found in the private sector.

But we can't do it if we deride one of our own for choosing to use a public institution to help finance his election campaign.

As flawed as it is, public campaign financing is no less flawed than running campaigns without it and literally turning our democracy into one big "money primary". Just as you should be able to choose whether to use state-sponsored health care or private insurers, a candidate should be able to choose whether or not public campaign financing is preferable given his or her specific circumstances. To deride that choice, to declare the "end of the campaign" simply because a candidate chooses to utilize a public institution, flies in the face of everything that progressives should stand for.

Kos asked for consistency, and with respect, I think I'm giving him a barrel full.