If the speed limit on I-75 could be cut to 25 mph tomorrow, there would be no more traffic jams and wrecks. It would be as empty as the Indianapolis Speedway in January.

        But traffic would clog side streets and alternate routes, where accidents and delays would be worse than ever. And then “reformers” would demand lower speed limits on those roads, too.

        Does that sound idiotic? Welcome to the campaign finance freeway.

        Contribution “speed limits” have been drastically reduced, forcing donations into hidden side streets. And the solution from reformers is ... more limits.

Speeding tickets

        It doesn't work. And Kentucky and Ohio have the traffic jams to prove it.

        In Ohio, it's a wreck on the Joe Deters Parkway. The state treasurer and former Hamilton County prosecutor is accused of “laundering” campaign contributions through the Hamilton County Republican Party he once led as chairman.

        But that's like ticketing drivers on I-75 for exceeding 50 mph. Everyone does it. Politicians detour donations through county and state parties because the limits on direct contributions are too low: $2,500 in a primary, and $2,500 in the general election.

        A week of TV ads for a statewide race costs $1 million — or 400 individual donations of $2,500.

        So donations are funneled through the parties. It's entirely legal. Both parties do it because the “reformers” have made a mess of campaign finance.

        “I don't like it,” Mr. Deters said. “But as well-intentioned as the laws were, they're not working. We should just remove all the limits and let people donate directly and make full disclosure.”

Bumper-to-bumper

        In Kentucky, there's gridlock on Budget Boulevard because Gov. Paul Patton and fellow Democrats want to expand the state's pot-holed public finance law.

        Statewide candidates who agree to state spending limits get matching money from taxpayers' pockets. But the limits are so low, unknown candidates can't spend enough to compete with the free publicity incumbents get.

        And if Gov. Patton gets his way, taxpayers could be gouged for $30 million to $70 million. If a wealthy candidate decides to ignore the limits, taxpayers have to give his opponents $2 for every $1 beyond the cap.

        According to state Sen. Dick Roeding, R-Lakeside Park, one wealthy candidate in the Democratic primary spent $7.4 million in a previous campaign. Kentucky can't afford to double that for several other candidates, he says, while already facing a $20 million deficit.

        “It's a blank check on the state treasury to pay for welfare for politicians,” Sen. Roeding says.

        Kentucky's limits are already detouring donations through state parties, where contributions are up 33 percent.

        The media love campaign finance reform, but polls show voters hate being forced to pay for campaigns.

        Spending limits cause bogus “scandals” and drive donations underground.

        Trying to clean up the mess with more limits is like trying to eliminate traffic jams on I-75 with more orange barrels.

       E-mail pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.

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