FEC Moves to Regulate Groups Opposing Bush

Washington Post ^ | February 19, 2004 | Thomas B. Edsall

[neverdem]

The Federal Election Commission decided yesterday that many of the political committees raising "soft" money to campaign against President Bush are subject to regulation, but it postponed deciding how tough the restrictions should be.

The FEC voted 4 to 2 to warn Americans for a Better Country that activities that "promote, attack, support or oppose" a federal candidate must be paid for with hard money, a type of political donation that, unlike soft money, has tight restrictions on sources and amounts. This is a broader standard than used in the past. Activities that benefit a mix of federal, state and local candidates are to be paid for with a mix of hard and soft money, the commission determined.

Interpretations of yesterday's action varied greatly.

FEC Vice Chairman Ellen L. Weintraub said the decision should not severely constrain those seeking to raise and spend soft money, which is not subject to limits and can come from unions and corporations as well as individuals. "I don't think sophisticated political actors would have a hard time figuring out how to work within this framework," she said.

[neverdem]

This says nothing about the NRA, only non-profit schemes.

[GulliverSwift]

I love the biased perspective here. Only groups against Bush are being curtailed, apparently. Of course, that's patently false, but who said the media cared about the truth?

[Schattie]

THat makes me wonder if the reason Bush has held back so far is he's waiting to see what is allowed under the new campaign finance laws.

[GeronL]

Notice the bias in the headline... this will effect all groups of this type and not just liberal ones.

[jmstein7]

BUMP!

This is VERY big news.

[jmstein7]

. . . Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, in contrast, said the ruling will put out of business "groups like America Coming Together [ACT], the Media Fund, Partnership for America's Families and the MoveOn.org Voter Fund." All are pro-Democratic groups organized under Section 527 of the tax code.

These and other 527 committees, as they are known, are aiming to become a shadow version of the Democratic Party, financing television commercials and voter mobilization in 15 to 17 battleground states this fall. They plan to pay for some or all of their activities with large soft-money contributions. . . .

This is HUGE! This is a BIG BLOW to MoveOn.org!

[jmstein7]

. . . McCain-Feingold's restrictions on soft money have hurt the Democratic Party, which depended heavily on large contributions from unions and rich partisans to pay for issue ads and voter mobilization. The GOP has been far more successful raising still-legal hard money, which can involve contributions of up to $25,000 to the parties. . . .

[goldstategop]

The liberals' support of Constitutionally Forcible Rape is coming back to bite them in the rear end. They can go cry me a river.