Campaign & Champagne

In old New England town meetings, all citizens--rich and poor--had an equal opportunity to give their opinions on matters affecting the community. The playing field was small--accommodating perhaps a hundred or two hundred people--but what mattered was that the field was level.

Having noticed that in governmental matters the rich have a far louder voice than the poor, legislators such as McCain and Feingold have tried to rebalance the field of political battle. The opposition argues that there should be no limits to campaign financing because--ironically--doing so would limit "free" speech as guaranteed in the Constitution.

In this debate, etymology supports those who favor restricting the amount of money spent on political campaigns. The word "campaign" comes to us from the Latin "campania," level countryside" or "level field." A military battle on such ground was called a "campaign." (The same linguistic source gives us "champagne," the name of the region where the bubbly beverage was invented.

But back to conflict: On a level field, opposing armies could fight fairly, whereas if the field were slanted, the side on the higher ground would likely win. Such a victory, however, wouldn't demonstrate the winner's superior strength or courage.

The parallel to political campaigning is clear. Politicians with greater financial backing have a better chance of winning. But their triumphs do not assure us that we will get better leadership or better laws.