Calif. Plan: Make Politicians Wear Donor Names

Republican wants to take financial transparency to a NASCAR level
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2016 10:00 AM CDT
Calif. Plan: Make Politicians Wear Donor Names
Jimmie Johnson gets ready for the final practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto raceat the Martinsville Speedway Saturday, April 2, 2016 in Martinsville, Va.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

NASCAR drivers have their sponsors' names and logos stitched into the very fabric of their clothes—making it very apparent who's paying the freight—and a California Republican legislator thinks that level of transparency is a good idea for politicians, as well. John Cox says he's "ridiculing the current system," and wants to force state politicians to wear the names of their biggest donors. It's no joke: Cox has nearly 250,000 signatures to get his "California is not for sale" initiative on the ballot in November, reports USA Today, and he's shooting for 500,000 by the end of the month. He needs 366,000. On his eventual wishlist: Redistricting the current map into "neighborhood" districts that represent 7,000 constituents instead of 700,000. The idea is that takes big money out of politics by drastically reducing the $1.6 million that the average winning House race cost in 2012. (More campaign finance stories.)

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