Senate must pass Disclose Act

[Commentary] As voters consider the issues and candidates, they're awash in an unprecedented flood of campaign advertising, much of it funded by people who don't identify themselves -- and don't have to.

So come January, we'll have a crop of ambitious lawmakers beholden to donors the public has no way to identify. How can they be held accountable? We hope that once the election frenzy subsides, a few Republican senators will listen to their consciences. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, John McCain, Richard Lugar and Thad Cochran all previously have voted for much more restrictive campaign finance laws. The Disclose Act will be just a start at solving campaign finance problems. For example, Congress and the IRS need to examine whether independent groups are abusing their nonprofit status. But the act will help solve one very real problem, and if the Senate doesn't pass it, we'll have even more evidence that lawmakers are out for themselves and their donors -- not the people.