Letter to the Editor: McCutcheon more of the same?

Dear Editor,
The old saying, the rain turned around and came back, was probably never true, as it was just another  thunder storm behind  the first. Well that’s what we have in the Alabama Legislature with the election of Rep. Mac McCutcheon, one of Speaker Mike Hubbard’s top lieutenants ,to be the new speaker of the House  of Representatives. So what can we expect from the next session? Hopefully not just more of the same, more trying to give more power to the legislature at the expense of democracy.
The house republicans lined up behind Mac McCutcheon just like they did with Mike Hubbard. But Hubbard and now Mac McCutcheon are not the only ones carrying water for special interest. No limit campaign finance contributions in Alabama (courtesy  the Republican Legislature) has opened a new gold mine for  legislators who are for sale or have been bought. It’s not much different from how the mafia operates, you  pay the money and you get protection, or what -ever you want. It was never intended that it be this way.
There are a precious few legislators and candidates who have, and are refusing to take any PAC money, but their numbers are increasing, and with this,  there is still hope, that  one day Alabama will turn around from  its long standing corrupt ways of governing itself. The last public official that ran and won the district 79 seat, according to public records, brought in contributions, in the astounding sum of $4,431,989.79.
Most voters probably don’t have the foggiest idea of just how much money their legislators gathered in the last election cycle, from whom, and how it was spent, but they should know, and they can quickly find out by going to the Alabama Secretary of State’s site, www.alabamavotes.gov.  Once on the site, click on campaign finance reports, then select electronic filings, then scroll down and hit generate reports, then in upper left corner hit contribution search or expenditure search, then when the form comes up, type in only  the last name, nothing else, then scroll down to hit search and report should come up.
Informed voters make better decisions and better decisions make for better government.
Slaton Crawford
Auburn