Joe Trippe, Dean’s former campaign guy and

now, the campaign guy for John Edwards, in an appearance on Chris Matthew’s Soap Box today, floated an idea that, apparently, the Edwards campaign will use to prod fellow Democratic candidates. The idea: Unhook all Democratic Presidential candidates (indeed all Democrats running for office) from the inside the beltway lobbyist. The purpose, in Trippe’s view, is to raise the Democratic candidates to a higher moral plane and put the Republicans on defense, defending what most American’s view as immoral, probably the fraudulent injection of lobbying money into the various campaigns. Trippe thinks that this will strike a harmonious chord with the voting public and thus gain the high road for Democrats. Maybe it would, but I doubt that he will get many takers.

The one fact certain is that political campaigns cost money. He (or she) who most efficiently collects and spends the most is likely to be elected. Elections are successfully purchased when clever candidates deliver clever campaigns, clever advertisements (especially attack Ads), clever spokespeople make clever speeches depicting the wrongs of the opposition, and when all this is paid for by a clever campaign finance manager supplied by the clever contributors …in national elections, more often than not, the K Street lobbyist. The two operable requirements are cleverness and money. Cynical, yes, probably, but very close to the truth. Hillary’s view that “lobbyist are people too” should not be the motto of the Democratic presidential campaign. Democrats should help America to eliminate this unfortunate destruction of our political system.

Some would argue that spurning money (any body’s money) is political suicide. I don’t think so. Accepting every dollar, no matter the taint associated, is destroying our democracy. Shall we continue that destruction or take a risk and maybe find a better way.

Though I am not a supporter of John Edwards, necessarily, I think he is onto something. The American people assume that politics equals sleaziness. Both our political parties have given our people every reason to come to that conclusion. Edwards, in advocating (and practicing) the elimination of lobbyist money, puts himself on a moral high-ground pedestal. He has invited the other Democrats to join him. I think it is high time that they do so. Let the Republicans defend why they are taking large sums of money from the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon, BP, Shell and others as they continue to advocate the war in Iraq.

A growing number of American’s are not stupid.