Posted on 02/15/2002 5:38:58 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
WASHINGTON — At 9:15 Wednesday morning, one hour before the House debate on a historic campaign-finance overhaul, the White House issued a few short words that doomed the House GOP leadership's painstaking effort to defeat the legislation.
Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters at an off-camera briefing that the proposal would, "in the president's opinion, improve the system."
Advocates of the Shays-Meehan reform legislation made hundreds of copies from an Internet report of the remarks. "It spread like a prairie fire," one Republican aide said.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who had hosted White House lobbyists at a 9 a.m. meeting of House Republicans devoted to defeating the bill, was furious. David Hobbs, White House liaison to the House, told the White House, which reversed course.
But it was too late. Reassured by the White House's blessing, 39 Republicans backed Shays-Meehan, a pattern that continued as leaders offered a dozen amendments designed to derail the bill.
That the White House's actions proved to be a turning point is an extraordinary irony. Bush had opposed the proposal vigorously on the campaign trail, although he offered his own version. He warmed to the idea as president, saying he couldn't be counted on to veto a bill. But he was no supporter.
His last-minute move demonstrated his pragmatic side. The White House could see the parade passing by and decided to get out in front. A dozen administration officials said yesterday that Bush plans to sign the bill, barring some undiscovered flaw.
"From the beginning, it was pretty clear that this was going to be signed or at least given serious consideration," a White House official said. "And if this thing was going to die of its own merit in the House or the Senate, we didn't want to take the blame for it."
The split between the White House and House leaders became public Wednesday morning when Fleischer told reporters that if campaign-finance reform is enacted, "I believe that you can thank President George W. Bush." Fleischer all but endorsed the two leading measures.
After protests from Hastert's office, the White House retreated. Bush told reporters at a photo opportunity two hours later that he wanted to sign a bill that improves the system but did not repeat Fleischer's wording. "We'll see what comes my way," Bush said.
House Republicans' best hopes of killing the bill at that point were in an amendment that would have the bill take effect immediately. Yet Bush, in his appearance, endorsed immediate implementation.
That afternoon, Fleischer further backed away from his morning support for Shays-Meehan by attacking a provision that would allow party committees to pay off old debts with money that was being banned by the legislation.
Republican strategists said the efforts by Fleischer and Bush to soften the initial endorsement were too little and too late. The House passed the legislation 240-189 well after midnight, with Washington state lawmakers voting along party lines.
The measure would ban "soft money" — the millions of dollars in large, unregulated donations given to national political parties each year by unions, corporations and wealthy individuals. It also would prohibit many of the political TV commercials that are perceived as attack ads in the final 60 days of a campaign.
In exchange, contribution limits from individuals would double to $2,000 per candidate per election, and for the first time the limit would rise with inflation. The bill also would increase the total donors could give to all candidates in a given election cycle.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., yesterday pledged to take up the House bill as soon as possible. The measure is similar to one passed in April by the Senate. Because Congress is in recess next week, Daschle said, the Senate won't consider the legislation before Feb. 26.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who for years has fought efforts led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to pass such legislation, said he hadn't decided how and whether to fight it.
But McConnell seemed almost nostalgic in a speech on the Senate floor, when he metaphorically tipped his hat to McCain.
"I don't know whether we will end up not having these annual dances we've had over the last decade or not," McConnell said. "If it ends up we don't have these anymore in the future, I'll sort of miss them in a perverse sort of way."
Just called McConnell's office..
The staffer would only say a filibuster is possible..
What's the number for McConnell's office? We gotta tell him not to give up!!!!!!!!!!!!
Currently, the NAYS have it...
Yes (3,651) 23%
No (12,221) 77%
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