Naive, naive, naive: Yesterday, Hub Blog couldn’t link, for whatever confounding html reason, to an article about how supporters of the Clean Elections Law were disappointed that Warren Tolman, their official darling in the gov’s race, was running “negative” TV ads, paid for 100 percent by taxpayers. Today, Adrian Walker picks up the ball, trashing Tolman (justifiably) for his campaign tactics. But Walker misses the point: The “disappointment” in Tolman derives from naive backers of the Clean Elections Law running smack into reality. At its core, the Clean Elections Law was never exclusively about “limiting” the power of “money.” It was also about imposing “civility” into campaigns, an attempt to micro-manage naughty manners and to protect delicate sensibilities. In other words, there was an unmistakable strain of utopianism in the Clean Elections Law, as if “private” money somehow corrupted people while “public” money would set them free to become their better angels. How pathetic.
  ¶ 9:11 AM