Articles by Bill Campbell

It's easy to empathize with Republicans living in California. For a long time, the state has been dominated by the Democratic Party, and Democrats are quite willing to exercise their influence in self-serving ways. No doubt California Republicans feel as though they cannot get a fair shake or even be heard. Unfortunately, this frustration seems to have led some to desperation when it comes to the upcoming recall election for Governor Gavin Newsom. Most of us were taught that the "founding fathe...

Editor's Note: This piece originally published on Represent San Diego's blog and has been posted in its entirety on IVN by request and with permission from Represent San Diego. ‍ The Electoral College is without doubt one of the most peculiar institutions in U.S. politics. Most American school children are taught the basics of how it serves to “elect” the President, but perhaps a more relevant question today is: Why do we still employ such an arcane mechanism for such an important purpose? O...

‍ The conditions that allow human greed to corrupt institutions such as the American system of governance have the same elements as those required for a criminal conviction—motive, means and opportunity: * Motive. The motives for corruption vary, but greed is usually at the heart of it. We’re never going to legislate away what seems to be a fundamental aspect of human nature (at least among many people). * Means. Efforts to corrupt institutions require resources. Those resources can be in th...

H.R. 1, named the "For the People Act of 2021," is legislation originally proposed by the House of Representatives in 2019 to fight electoral corruption and shore up our representative democracy through changes in federal election law....

H.R. 1, named the "For the People Act of 2021," is legislation originally proposed by the House of Representatives in 2019 to fight electoral corruption and shore up our representative democracy through changes in federal election law. Since fighting corruption is a primary concern of Represent San Diego, we've taken a keen interest in this legislation. That this bill is getting traction in the Capitol is notable because lawmakers rarely embrace changes to a system that put them in their positi...

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us. Home Box Office released a documentary this summer called “The Swamp.” I’ve had enough exposure to American politics to be unsurprised by legalized corruption, but this film revealed some things that stunned even a cynic like myself. Through interviews with three Republican members of Congress, Matt Goetz of Florida, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ken Buck of Colorado, we learn about the ways the system cons...

This is an independent opinion. Want to respond? Write your own commentary! Email hoa@ivn.us. Most of us have a few political priorities we’re passionate about. The list might include climate change, taxation, immigration reform, the military—there are many possibilities. Whatever your hot button issues, chances are you can’t address them on your own. You need to engage the government to make meaningful progress. But what if the government is unresponsive? What if it is, in fact, corrupt, and ...