Is the political process broke and in need of overhaul?  I think most would agree that it is.  Personally, I think that money and power has corrupted the political process.  Much too much time is spent on getting elected and not enough time is spent serving. 

Here are some of my ideas to correct the system.

• I would ban all soft money contributions.  Click here for further explanation. 
• I would ban all Political Action Committees.  (PACs)
• Let's stop the rhetoric that an individual candidate doesn't accept PAC contributions when they know full well that dollars spent by generic gubernatorial, senate, or house campaign funds are supported by PAC contributions. 
• I would limit the amount a candidate can spend of his own money.
• I would ban all corporations, unions and other organizations from donating free services to a candidate, such as providing poll workers on election day.
• I would limit the amount of money any individual can donate to a particular candidate to $50.00.
• Each candidate could only have one campaign fund.  All money would have to go into that fund.  All funds would have to be spent on the particular campaign for which the fund is intended.  Any amounts not spent would become taxable income to the candidate or they would have to be donated to a list of recognized charities. 
• All generic governor, senator, representative, "citizens for" and  like funds would be banned. 
• The candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court should be truly non partisan.  Thus, they should be removed from the political process and not nominated by any political party.
• No attorney should be allowed to donate or in any way support the candidacy of a judge.  If any attorney did support a candidacy, the attorney and the firm for which she/he works should never be allowed to practice before the judge.
• All lobbyists should be banned.  This includes lobbyists for industry, unions, and even governmental bodies.  There wouldn't be any need for these groups if everyone is placed on a level playing field. 
• Let's quit saying it will only cost x dollars because the county, state or federal government will be paying a percentage.  We are the county, state and federal government.  It's our tax dollars that support each of these governmental entities.

Soft money Contributions. 

Currently there is no limit on the amount of dollars corporations, individuals and I believe unions can donate to groups such as the Democratic or Republic National Committees.  These groups can then use these moneys to run "issue ads".  These are ads that do not support a particular candidate but are obviously intended to support or discredit a candidate indirectly.  Big corporations, big donors, or perhaps big unions can unduly influence campaigns with large donations.