Wouldn't it be loverly if he could pull this off?
Pope Francis has made his opinion known on a variety of hot-button issues like Cuba, gay rights and climate change.
Now he’s sharing his thoughts on campaign finance.
His belief? Separate special interest money from politics.
His comments, reported by Crux, a publication covering the Catholic Church, caught the attention of Ellen Weintraub, a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, who mentioned it before the panel’s meeting Tuesday. They joked that maybe the pope would like to come testify at an FEC hearing.
Weintraub assured us Wednesday there are no plans to extend an invitation to Francis.
Discussing the general elections this fall in Argentina, his home country, he called for a “free, unfinanced campaign.”
“In the financing of electoral campaigns, many interests get into the mix, and then they send you the bill,” Francis said.
He also called for transparency in fundraising for political campaigns.
“Perhaps public financing would allow for me, the citizen, to know that I’m financing each candidate with a given amount of money,” he said. “Everything needs to be transparent and clean.”
“I am happy for anyone to recognize campaign finance,” Weintraub told the Loop. “This might be even better than Stephen Colbert.”
