Campaign Reform, Who Cares?

W A S H I N G T O N, March 19 -- While most Americans favor the concept of campaign finance reform, which will consume the Senate for the next two weeks, the issue ranks low on the public's agenda.

Most people have many more pressing concerns, and most doubt reform would effectively curb the role of money in politics.

Indeed, compared to other issues, campaign finance long has been in the basement of public priorities. In an ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll in January, 20 percent said it should receive "the highest priority" from President Bush and Congress, ranking it 16th out of 18 issues tested. And it came in dead last (out of 16) as a voting issue last fall.

One reason is that people care most about issues that affect them personally — things like health care, the economy, education, crime or Social Security. Campaign finance reform doesn't hit them where they live.

Even in the New Hampshire Republican primary, which lifted Sen. John McCain to stardom, just 9 percent of voters cited campaign finance reform as the most important issue in their vote, placing it fifth out of seven issues tested. (It did no better on the Democratic side.)

Good Idea, But...

It's not that the idea is unpopular. In ABCNEWS/Washington Post polling last year two-thirds of Americans supported stricter laws controlling the way political campaigns raise and spend money. Gallup found a similar level of support specifically for limits on "soft money" contributions.

Support Oppose ABC/Post April, 2000: Stricter campaign finance laws 66% 28% Gallup October 2000: Limiting soft money contributions 72% 24%

But these same polls also found questions in the publics mind about how well campaign finance reform would work, and whether it's really needed. In our poll just a quarter said campaign finance reform would do "a lot" to reduce the influence of money in politics; another 38 percent thought it would work, but just "somewhat."