Lawrence Who?!?
What do you do if like Donald Trump’s message, but are repulsed by the messenger?
According to polls, Trump is leading the Republican field because millions like his message: that today’s money-soaked politics serves the interests of a select few — and disserves the interests of everyone else.
Meanwhile, it’s equally clear that Trump’s personal style poses a problem for vast swaths of the electorate — or at least the half missing a Y chromosome.
My suggestion: take a look at Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig, who’s just announced an exploratory campaign for President.
Message > Messenger
Here’s Lessig’s prescription for curing what ails the republic:
“You want to rail against Wall Street? Great. But unless you fix the way we fund campaigns, we’re not going to take on the largest funder of congressional campaigns in America. We need a plan for unrigging the system first, and none of the current candidates have given us that plan.”
—Lawrence Lessig to Explore a Run for President as Democrat”; The New York Times (Aug. 11, 2015).
Lessig’s proposals for reforming campaign finance are laid out in his book, “Republic Lost.”
Even if you don’t agree with Lessig, his entering the race would elevate the discourse, and give millions of disenfranchised voters who value substance over style a great alternative to a certain orange-haired blowhard.
