The supply and demand of campaign finance reform

Since the first attempts at campaign finance reform almost a century ago, t wo different threads have emerged as ways to structure a reform regime. One strand, the supply side, has attempted to solve the campaign finance dilem ma by trying to limit the overall supply of private money in the political system. The other strand, the demand side, has approached the problem from the other direction, hy decreasing politicians' demand and desire for priva te money. This Note then argues that most efforts to reform campaign financ e have failed because of an over-emphasis on the supply sine. Future reform efforts should recognize that money will always Jinn a way into the politi cal system. Unless the politicians' demand for private money decreases, thr ough such measures as public financing, disclosure, and increased FEC enfor cement, any reform will fail because history and reality have shown the ine ffectiveness of installing artificial supply-side limits on the campaign fi nance system. Since Buckley v. Valeo permits these types of demand-side ref orms, a continuation of the Buckley regime still allows enough flexibility to implement a comprehensive reform strategy.