During the budget catastrophe of 1995-96, when nearly the entire city of Washington, D.C., was shut down, I often joked to my friends that we could run the government more efficiently than those in office at the time.

Blame was running amok. Pennsylvania Avenue seemed to be lined with congressional leaders and White House staffers on both sides, angrily pointing fingers in all directions. Critics of President Clinton found fault with the lack of organization in his administration, while others found the Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, with their seemingly vindictive attitudes, to be the culprits.

However, rather than seek out a scapegoat, we should regard last year’s budget crisis as an example of how our current campaign and legislative system is failing the American public. Welfare reform, the budget deficit, equal opportunity laws, health care — all of the domestic issues currently confronting our nation are drowning in the deep waters of Washington’s political undercurrent. Until we fix the system within which our government operates, we have no hope of dealing with any of these issues effectively.

The essence of the problem lies with the immense power we have granted lobbyists and special interest groups, along with the preposterous amount of money flowing into campaigns. British political scientist Anthony King wrote an article appearing in the January issue of the Atlantic Monthly magazine, identifying America’s permanent election campaign as a debilitating facet of this country’s democratic ideology.

“Quite simply, the American electoral system places politicians in a highly vulnerable position … Because they are more vulnerable,” King writes, “they devote more of their time to electioneering, and their conduct in office is more continuously governed by electoral considerations.”

Within its democratic society, the United States continues to cultivate and nurture the capitalistic equation that money is power. In doing so, we have ultimately laid down a challenge for all interest groups, lobbyists and voting blocs: “See how much money you can raise, then watch the media for results in the Oval Office and on Capitol Hill.”

An easy comparison can be drawn between the power of large campaign contributors and the buying power of large corporations. Just as corporate America is enveloping business, special interest groups are enveloping politics.

The increasingly disastrous effects of our political system are embodied in the struggle of Clinton’s first administration to come up with, and pass, a deficit reduction and budget plan. Terrified of the impending re-election, Clinton’s administration was fearful of alienating any large special interest group when drawing up the plan. Congressional leaders, for their part, were thinking of potential reactions from their constituents and were fearful to pass it. I do not mean to blame either President Clinton or legislators for their concentration on re-election; they are merely products of this country’s current political environment.

What can be done? As a starting point, regulations governing campaign and lobbying finances need to be not only reformed, but implemented. Existing regulations have proved to be ineffectual.

One of my professors remarked in class the other day that he is “disturbed” by the possibility that international money is flowing into campaigns. He is right to be disturbed.

Recent wrong-doings by Democratic and Republican party fund-raisers, if true, are unacceptable. No special interest, foreign or domestic, should be allowed to buy access to our country’s policy-makers. Legislation, of all things, must not be for sale.

The caps for campaign and lobbying spending need to be lowered, and funding sources have to be monitored. Perhaps above all, stricter punishments for violations must be enforced.

Politicians will protest at first, but as money is slowly eased out of the campaign and legislative processes, they will begin to feel less pressure. They will be able to focus more intently on the job they were elected to do, which is to look out for the good of the American people.

What this nation needs, what it has always needed, is for the government to take a parental stance of “tough love” when making laws, rather than pander to the wishes of interest groups. Though the short-term benefits of certain pieces of legislation may not be readily apparent, if law-makers are honestly doing what they feel is right for the country as a whole, the public will thank them later.

We need to release our government from its own chains. We need to provide legislators with the freedom and the trust to make sound decisions, not in the interest of their careers, but in the best interest of the nation. We can start by encouraging them to pass an effectual campaign and lobbying finance reform act. Maybe then, as a country, we can begin to address the many societal issues that face us.

Tracy Lucht is a senior in journalism and mass communication from West Des Moines