Blankenship Has Too Much Influence

From a July 26, 2006, letter to the editor in the Charleston Daily Mail.

The portrayal of Don Blankenship as a "third party" in West Virginia politics goes to show just how messed up political campaigning has become.

When any individual can determine the outcome of an election just by throwing money at it, clearly the system is long overdue for reform.

This is the farthest thing possible from what our legacy of "popular elections" was meant to be.

"Popular elections" means exactly that. It means that whoever has the greatest support of the population wins the election.

Anything that takes away from that concept is a threat to democracy.

Allowing unlimited amounts of money from a single person to be directed toward a particular candidate or issue is just plain wrong. It works against the principle of one person, one vote, and against the principle of the popular election.

We must figure out how to resolve this problem.

Mike Harman
St. Albans