MILWAUKEE -- Stripping private money from politics and taking immediate action to create this change in the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election was a focal point during "Money in Politics and the Clean and Fair Elections Movement" discussion, featuring speakers Ed Garvey and Jack Lohman at UW-Milwaukee last week.

Most people would agree that we should at least have judicial races free of private funding, stated Garvey, Fighting Bob Fest coordinator, blogger and failed gubernatorial candidate of the 1998 election. Garvey is known for only accepting up to $100 contributions from donors during his run to advocate campaign finance reform.

Garvey made sure to highlight the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election in eliminating private funding. In regards to the $4 million from business interests going toward the race in support of Justice Louis Butler's opponent, former Ashland County District Attorney and Burnett County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gableman, he stated, "It's absolute nonsense to think a Supreme Court justice has to rely on businesses to get elected." Garvey also noted the same had been true for Justice Annette Ziegler.

"For 75 percent of cases that reach the Supreme Court there is a contributor on one side or the other," Lohman added, stating it was a statistic he had recently heard. Lohman is the founder of Business Leaders for Campaign Reform, author of "Politicians: Owned and Operated by Corporate America," and executive director of the Wisconsin Clean Elections Coalition.

Garvey, a "progressive" lawyer who regularly argues before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, made sure to emphasize just how much money can affect those in office. He noted an experiment held in Washington where people were offered $10 and refused to accept the gift because they were sure a string was attached. Garvey compared this to politicians and money, implying that those giving are expecting something in return.

"Anyone who says they're not affected by $100,000 is a liar. I'm curious if you give me $10," Garvey said.

Both Lohman and Garvey support full public financing of elections. In such a system, candidates are required to collect a certain amount of small donations from voters to demonstrate they have gained support. The candidates must then agree that they will not accept any other private funding. Public funds are then distributed to the candidate for their campaign.

The money for the public funds comes from a "tax check-off," which allows taxpayers to earmark a small portion of their taxes (usually $1 to $5) for distribution to candidates or political parties, as CommonCause.org states. Wisconsin currently has a partial public financing option, which provides "matching funds to statewide and legislative candidates."

Lohman kicked the program off by encouraging Republicans with a "strong bent towards values" to support public financing and argued it was a bipartisan issue. "It's because I'm a conservative that I want money out of the political system," Lohman said. He then stated that it currently costs $1,300 per taxpayer, per year to fund elections now, in comparison to the $5 per person, per year it would cost through full public financing.

When asked what a concerned public can do to create change Garvey urged students to put pressure on people in office to reform the system. He advocated that those in attendance call the governor and request that he call for a special session to take a lead on the issue. Garvey encouraged students to call legislators as well, to push for public financing in judicial races. He suggested sit-ins at the Capitol and argued that an influential movement can be created to demand change.

"I don’t have any doubt. Let’s start with the Supreme Court. Get 1,000 students to go to the Capitol to do something," Garvey proclaimed.

Both speakers honed in on the AT&T bill, the interest groups and money affecting the decision. Both predicted that it would be passed, despite what may be in the best interest of the public.

"Money has taken over the system to the point where it is so corrupt it’s hard for me to be here in a sense because if I tell you the truth about how bad the system is I'm afraid some of you will say, 'To hell with it; I'm not even getting involved,'" Garvey said.

The activist went on to explain that lobbyists, spending millions of dollars each year to frame the issues, demand so much of legislators' time that their constituents are often unable to communicate what they feel is in the best interest of the public. Garvey also expressed his desire for normal, everyday people to be able to run for office.

One student asked if restricting private funding would restrict free speech. Garvey then argued that the First Amendment is not absolute. "The guy with $30 million can talk to many. The other can't. There’s no fairness,” he added. "I don't think it’s First Amendment. I think it’s common sense."

Other issues, such as the 2008 presidential race and national health care, were also raised. Garvey urged students to watch Michael Moore’s "Sicko" and labeled the creator's work as "genius."

"If whoever gets the Democratic nomination doesn't push for national health care, they ought to be examined by a psychiatrist," Garvey. He also stated, “Go to Canada. Stay there until this war is over."

Garvey ended the night urging students to run for office.

The program was hosted by the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Group at UWM, Democracy Matters at UWM, the UWM College Democrats, Students for a Democratic Society and The American Democracy Project as "the birth of an unprecedented student movement across the state of Wisconsin to demand an end to the corrupting influence of private money in politics."