The Montreal Gazette, Oct. 30, on Canadian consequences of U.S. political campaign spending:

Our American friends will find themselves with the most expensive Congress money can buy. The last-minute tsunami of campaign spending gives Canadians still another reason to feel smug — we really do handle this better here. But the orgy of spending in Congressional races can have negative consequences for us.

U.S. candidates are burning through a record sum this year, over $2 billion. That’s 10 percent more than in 2008, and there’s not even a presidential election this year.

Many representatives elected Nov. 2 will immediately start to raise money for their 2012 races. And far too often, “raising money” is a euphemism for “selling your vote.” Literally taking bribes is still fairly rare, as far as anyone knows, but legislators do sell their votes, in a sense, to raise campaign funds: They decide to vote for the positions advocated by special-interest lobbyists; those interests then make donations. …

Part of the problem is that members of Congress are free of party constraint. Where Canadian Members of Parliament risk losing various perks or even official party re-nomination if they buck their leaders, Congress is in a sense 535 independents, each one taking his own position on each issue — and often raising more or less money depending on what those positions are.

Sometimes the special interests want protection against Canadian competition, or more pressure put on Canada to comply with this or that U.S. policy. There’s an obvious danger there for us. But there’s another risk, too: Sharp left-right polarization, and the resulting big swings in control of the House or Senate or both, make it very hard for Canadian governments and companies to predict U.S. policy. A boisterous and unpredictable neighbor can make you awfully nervous. …

It’s a mess. You know your system needs work when your Congress can be bought by anonymous bidders, like old master paintings at an art auction.

Online: http://www.montrealgazette.com