A letter in today's Des Moines Register from Nate Koppel, a former Common Cause intern and current Democracy Matters coordinator at Drake University, argues for the Iowa delegation to support the Fair Elections Now Act:

A reader's view

So much of the narrative around this presidential campaign is about changing Washington. But Washington is not just about the president. If we really want to change what’s done in our nation’s capital, we need a change in the way business is done in Congress as well.

It’s not hard to see where the resistance to change comes from; big businesses and special interests. Their presence, funding campaigns and lobbying to control the debate in D.C., makes positive change hard and undermines voters’ trust in the pillars of their government. We need to restore that trust, and promote honest and open debate on the issues facing our country.

In Congress, the path is simple; begin publicly financing congressional elections to eliminate the cycle of lawmakers appealing to big-money interests to pay for campaigns. Supporting public financing and the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress would be a real step towards change in Washington. U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell and the entire Iowa delegation should get behind this now, and show that a change in the system is coming no matter who wins the election in November.