Paul Barton
But law professor Brad Smith of Capital City University and the Center for Competitive Politics said in an interview that Lessig has gone off the deep end. “This is not a serious proposal; this is not a serious person,” Smith said of Lessig’s platform. Laughing, he added, “I would call him clinically insane.” Smith, also a former member of the Federal Election Commission, has been a debate opponent of Lessig’s.
“What if a war starts while he is president?” Smith asked. “Will he just walk away and say, ‘That’s not my issue?'”
While saying money is important in politics, Smith said, Lessig’s focus on that alone oversimplifies the array of factors that influence lawmakers’ decisions. It’s not campaign contributions that make the National Rifle Association so intimidating to members of Congress; it’s the group’s ability to stir voters, the former FEC member said.
