Thumbs down: Just what politics needs: More money

Raise your hand if you think money plays too big a role in politics. We may be naive, but we wouldn't be surprised if a few officeholders out there are holding their hands in the air, because they'd like to spend less time with their palms out. It's expensive to communicate with voters. Mail and advertising cost a lot of money, and legislative candidates can burn a lot of fuel getting around geographically large districts.

But there's got to be a better solution than allowing the party caucuses in the state Senate and Assembly to rake in individual campaign contributions of $36,000 per election - up from a present cap of $4,400 - and dole the money out to candidates, who certainly wouldn't forget the favor. That's the gist of Assembly Bill 84, a measure due for a vote in the closing days of the legislative session. California Common Cause and other transparency advocates oppose this bill, and it deserves a thumbs down.

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