Posted on 08/26/2004 2:40:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Politics: Campaign finance reform hasn't ended attack ads. It hasn't stopped MoveOn.org or the Swifties. Good. Let's hear it for loopholes that allow free speech.
Both John Kerry and President Bush have done some play-acting in recent days on the issue of negative campaigning. Kerry, stung by ads by fellow Vietnam vets questioning his claims to be a war hero and reminding voters of his over-the-top antiwar rhetoric, says Bush should stop these attacks.
As if Bush could. Kerry knows better.
Bush, for his part, says he'd be glad to join Kerry in squelching all this nastiness being funded outside normal party channels. He knows, of course, that Kerry would never take him up on that offer.
Kerry's campaign couldn't survive without the 527s, those groups that have taken over the task of raising unrestricted "soft" money since the passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.
The Swifties are a tiny 527, with less than $1 million raised so far. Most of the big ones, such as the anti-Bush attack dog MoveOn.org, align with the Democrats (see table).
And the fat cats funding the right aren't in the same league with billionaires like George Soros, who are throwing their wealth into the cause of defeating Bush.
Bush signed McCain-Feingold. Kerry voted for it. Both could be accused of hypocrisy in winking at activities that seem to violate the law's spirit, if not its letter.
But we'd rather see hypocritical winks than the kind of zeal displayed by the law's co-author, Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.
Feingold said this week that 527 groups working to defeat either Bush or Kerry should be subject to the same tight contribution limits that apply to political action committees.
To do so would close a loophole, to be sure. But a loophole in a misguided law isn't always a bad thing.
The gaps in McCain-Feingold let the public hear opinions that party leaders, for whatever reason, don't want to be identified with.
As a result, political debate is less inhibited and more robust. Voters get the full story on the candidates, with less gate-keeping by the parties and the mainstream media.
When a man asks voters to elect him president, those voters have a right to subject his past to intense scrutiny, and to let his critics be heard. Indeed, our democracy depends on it.
This year, with the nation at war and the stakes so high, is an especially bad time to stifle such voices.
An Open Letter to Senator John McCain from a Vietnam Veteran***........You carry no mandate to speak for us. Your personal feelings are yours and yours alone; but, emphatically, you do not speak for us. You spoke up to defend your friend and your friend has turned your words into talking points. It is truly reprehensible how the Kerry campaign and the mainstream media are hiding so cynically behind your condemnation of the Swiftvets, using your statement as an excuse to dismiss their claims as baseless, smear politics. Honestly, Senator, did you really intend to provide this kind of cover for those who are so desperate to prevent the truth from coming out?
With all due respect, since you weren't there to observe John Kerry first hand as were these Swiftvets, may I humbly suggest that the honorable thing for you to do, is to stay out of this fight and allow them and us to have our voice.........***
Seems to me the imbalance in the dollars is a result of a Republicans miscalculation. They tried to get campaign finance struck down while the Democrats were laying groundwork for what we are seeing today. Maybe our side needs to do a little better planning.
I believe Free Speech shouldn't be a loophole - it is a Right! But, it isn't free, either. Lots of money takes lots of preparation.
CFR has turned out to be an unconstitutional joke that McCain will never apologize for.
The loopholes in the law have only allowed the creation of the 527's we're now seeing, so not much has really changed.
The McCain bill should be repealed in the courts if possible, or in the streets if necessary.
ping
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