WONDERING WHAT YOU CAN DO?       If you are as frustrated as we are about the heavy-handedness of big campaign contributors and want a role in changing things, here are several ways you can do it: 1.) Educate Yourself Great resources for brushing up on the ins and outs of money in politics are found on the Internet (see our Links page for several), in addition to your regular viewing and reading of newspapers, books and periodicals. Also, we recommend you sign up for Public Campaign's bulletins to learn how money is corrupting our government officials (http://www.publicampaign.org).   2.) Know Your Legislators  It's really important that you know who represents you in the halls of government. Locator information can be found at http://www.congress.org for officials at all levels. Another good source is: http://www.lwv.org. 3.) Speak Your Mind Your representatives should hear from you once in a while. Otherwise they are left to guess how their constituents feel? Further, this makes them inclined to vote with the special interests who contact them regularly. 4.) Write A Letter To The Editor of a newspaper about your thoughts on the over-reliance of special-interest money in our election campaigns. 5.) Volunteer with groups like CFER, Common Cause, Public Campaign, League of Women Voters, PIRG, all of whom have taken strong stands for clean elections.  6.) Make A Donation to one of the good-government groups that support the Clean Election concept.  7.) Hold A House Party to educate relatives, friends and neighbors on election reform issues.  8.) Call A Talk Show and speak your mind!  9.) Vote for candidates who support publicly financed elections.                               TRACK CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR LAWMAKERS       The National Institute on Money in State Politics provides comprehensive information about who benefits from the contributions of special interests. The Institute obtains contribution reports filed by every candidate across the 50 states for legislature, judicial or state office and for state political party committees and ballot measure committees. These records are available at no cost at http://www.followthemoney.org .        This site is the only place where you can examine how much money industries and individual donors give to every state elected official and to their opposing candidates. Armed with this knowledge, the public and the media can use the information to make informed decisions about candidates and determine whether special interest contributors are wielding excessive influence in policy debates in their states.                                                                              HOW TO SUPPORT CLEAN ELECTIONS EVERYWHERE       Did you know that, on average, once a member of Congress is elected he or she must raise $10,000 a week or more in order to get re-elected?       No wonder our elected officials spend their time doing favors for big-money lobbyists and special interests who can write fat campaign checks. So how do we end the era of elected officials bought and paid for by wealthy campaign donors and special-interest lobbyists?       The answer is Clean Elections, a system that's already been proven to work in several states and cities.       One national organization which has been fighting the hardest for campaign finance reform in Public Campaign, located in Washington DC. You can find their web site at http://www.publicampaign.org. We suggest that you make a secure, tax-deductable, on-line contribution to Public Campaign in whatever amount you can afford.       Already, voters in places like Connecticut, Maine, Arizona, New Mexico, Portland (OR) and New York City are enjoying the benefits of Clean Elections. In these places voters go to the polls knowing that the candidates for whom they cast ballots will answer to them, not a special-interest lobbyist offering a campaign check and expecting a political favor in return.       Running "clean" means candidates agree to forgo all private contributions and follow strict spending limits. In return they receive money from a public fund, freeing them from the campaign "money chase." That's the kind of campaign reform we desperate need at the national level--and in all the states. But we need your help to make Clean Elections a reality for everyone.                                     "Time To Step Into The Public Arena"      "It's time for thoughtful citizens to turn off their TVs and step into the public arena. Protest. Attend meetings. Circulate petitions. Run for office. I suspect the public right now is way ahead of the politicians when it comes to ideas about creating a more peaceful, more equitable, more intelligent society.      The candidates for the most part are listening to their handlers and gurus and fat-cat contributors, which is the antithesis of democracy. It's not easy for ordinary men and women to be heard above that self-serving din, but it can be done.      Voters should listen to "Ike," who said in 1954:      "Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage."                               --from a column by Bob Herbert, The New York Times