Does the Public Care About Campaign Finance???

      It is known that the 5-4 vote in Citizens United V. FEC held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.  This being said, it is no secret that this years mid-term elections are becoming extremely expensive in the last two weeks of campaigning.  Donations and party contributions can now be kept secret, and millions of dollars are being slid through “social welfare” nonprofits aka 501(c)(4).  We are within two weeks of voting day and debates are almost non-existent dealing with campaign finance.  It has also come to a point where we, the public, know more about a candidate's dating history then we know about their financial honesty dealing with campaigns and the funding for them.
     For example, Stephen Fincher (D) who's running for an open seat in the 8th district of Tennessee, has had a complaint against him regarding a 250,000 dollar loan to his campaign.  Fincher, a soybean farmer, listed his family farm as his only asset in his financial disclosure form, and also included was an income of around $60,000 annually.  His $250,000 loan to himself/his campaign was listed as personal funds, but turned out to actually be a loan from Gates Banking & Trust, where his father holds a seat on the board of trustees.  After review, there's no question that the large sum of money came as an illegal corporate contribution.  Fincher chose not to debate his opponent and has refused to answer questions about the monies therefore, "If Fincher won't live by the rules of full disclosure and transparency before the election, how can he be trusted afterward?”
     This has brought to my attention the ignorance of many towards campaign finance.  The media, interest groups, and candidates alike point out things about an opponent's (or candidate's) character that may mean very little to their effectiveness in public office.  To me, I would like to know their honesty when dealing with rules, regulations, and laws that we all, as citizens, have to follow.  It upsets me that most of the voting public are unaware of current problems with campaign finance and criminality in the case of Stephen Fincher, and rather they are informed of or choose to remember things like a candidate's marriage history, their sexual preference, race and so on.     

TheHill 10/11/10