Ruth Marcus takes the occasion of the Office of Congressional Ethics’ referral of PMA Group issues to the Department of Justice to endorse the Fair Elections Now Act.

Grants would be generous enough to encourage participation ($360,000 for a House primary campaign, for instance) but would also be calibrated to reflect candidates’ support, with additional matching funds of $4 in public money for each $1 raised by candidates themselves. The estimated cost is $2 billion to $3 billion per election.

Real money, but a promising way out of the sickening current arrangement of “you don’t have to drink, you just have to pay.”