Any of these proposals would be better than the system we have now. Obviously. But it should be equally obvious that the only way any of these proposals can ever hope to pass this Congress is if one of them inspires Americans from outside the beltway to stand up and demand change.

We Americans are not easily inspired. Forty years of reform have left us more cynical, not less -- and not just about Congress but also about the very idea of "reform." Eighty percent of Americans surveyed by Clarus believe that the reforms Congress has passed "have been designed more to help current members of Congress get re-elected [than] to improve the system." The biggest challenge for the next reform is not just substance but also believability: It must convince America that it, finally, offers real change.

While no one doubts that corruption is symmetrical -- Democrats are just as dependent as Republicans on the 1 percent -- the reform movement is not.

This is why it is a mistake, as some have recommended, for reformers in Congress to fix on any single plan just now. It would be an even graver mistake if they did so and and that plan struck most Americans as very weak tea. Instead, the reformers should encourage innovation among members of both parties, and watch for the ideas that actually catch. Congress must aim high -- both to get America's attention and to inspire the country that this reform might work.

For there is a nation here that could be inspired. Across the political spectrum, America is outraged at the corruption of this government. Eighty-seven percent of us named ending government corruption a top issue for the next administration -- number two on that list, chosen by just as many Republicans as Democrats. And thousands have followed the leadership of groups such as Common Cause, People for the American Way, Public Citizen, the Coffee Party, and MovetoAmend.org to get millions to demand that Congress address the outrage that is Citizens United. Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike hate this system -- at least the ones who don't count on a future on K Street. Any reform movement that hopes to win must give that incredible movement the respect it deserves.

Respect begins with listening. It is fed by open debate. And it is encouraged by the belief that the hard work of organizing -- the work that produced almost 2 million signatures demanding real change -- will be at least as important in this process as the favors of insiders.

Democrats have a real chance here. While no one doubts that the corruption of this current system is symmetrical -- Democrats are just as dependent as Republicans on funding from the tiniest slice of the 1 percent -- the reform movement is not symmetrical. The GOP has become the anti-reform party (unless by "reform" you mean increasing the corruption of a system in which the tiniest slice of the 1 percent fund America's campaigns). Only Democrats are talking about ideas that might actually end that corruption.