Warren Rudman in an op-ed in the WaPo comes through with what is probably the most intelligent ingredient that might pave the wave to an improved governanace in the Senate. But who knows if there is sanity enough to rely on such suggestions?

Time and again, I hear from my former colleagues in the Senate that fundraising is life, and an unhappy one at that. The average senator raised nearly $10 million to run for office in the last election -- $30,000 each and every week of a six-year term. And last month's Supreme Court ruling permitting unlimited corporate spending in elections only made matters worse.

In practical terms, that means endless hours of call time with major donors, often out-of-state interests with business before the committees on which the senator serves. It means having to face the rampant cynicism of a public that overwhelmingly equates accepting money from private interests with compromises in personal and institutional integrity. It means time away from the real business of governing our country.

To restore the public's trust and put senators back to work, we need to end their reliance on special-interest money. The best solution I know is citizen-funded elections: a system of small donations from constituents and matching public funds for qualifying candidates who forgo large donations. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) has made a fine start with the Fair Elections Now Act, which caps donations at $100 apiece and provides competitive matching dollars out of a deficit-neutral fund raised through fees on large-scale government contracts. It would be a welcome change for senators and the American people

Warren Rudman (R-NH) 1980-1993