'Patriot dollars' to reform politics

We raised money -- $100 million over the last 17 years -- for candidates and ballot initiatives. Known as "fortune tellers," we "delivered" big bags of "doughnuts" (campaign contributions) to our clients -- sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. And as reformed sinners, we are here to tell you that the current system is not just broken, it is irrevocably broken.

By Pamela L. Finmark and William D. Chalmers

January 5, 2009