[BigMacGOP]

I hope that this never gets signed into law. This is a horrible bill and a violation of the 1st Amendment.

[Askel5]

For a second, I figured FReepers had found a way to purge Pulcher.

(BTW, I told you she was a chick ...

[VRWC_minion]

What a waste of time. Bill passed will be unconstitutional. Before the ink is dry, it will be in defeated in court.

The real question is how much political capital should be burned up on this. Bush has it right. Sign it and get it thrown out in court.

[A Citizen Reporter]

CNN banner reading that a news conference at 2:30 PM EST on CFR.

[t-shirt]

Clinton takes in milions of mafia and Chinese communist money all clearly illegal and felonies!

And Clinton committs treason in return for the money and both parties refuse to let him be prosecuted and now these SOB's want to pass some phoney campaign finance reform?????

[rwfromkansas]

What is a discharge petition?

[murdoog]

This just shows what a tenacious grip the Council On Foreign Relations has on all of our governing institutions! I expect to see a similiar headline about the Trilateral Commission anyday now.

[VRWC_minion]

Senate Approves Campaign Finance Reform Bill

Senator Phil Gramm's Speech on Campaign Finance Reform

[Yankee]

Can Dingell-Norwood be far behind?

Lockbox.

[sphinx]

I am not as sanguine as some others here about the prospect of being saved by the courts.

What will almost certainly be ruled unconstitutional will be CFR's limits on ads (what can be said, when they can run, etc.). This is a direct first amendment question. FWIW, I have never believed CFR proponents took these limits seriously themselves; they are merely camoflauge. What the courts WILL let stand, however, will be CFR's limits on soft money contributions to the parties.

The practical effect will be that the Democrats will just let organized labor run the bulk of their ad campaigns with compulsory dues money. This is exactly what they did in '95-'96. All those grainy, out-of-focus ads attacking the "Dole-Gingrich Congress" were union ads, though most people don't realize it. (Thought they were Democrat ads, didn't you? Silly you.) All CFR will mean for the Dems, therefore, is that instead of writing large checks to the DNC, the unions will cut ads themselves. The same people make the decisions in either case, as the DNC/union political operations are, for all practical purposes, fully integrated.

The bottom line is, for the Dems it will be business as usual. The pubbies will have to scramble to find a new way to finance national ad campaigns.

An important thing to look for is a strong non-severability provision. I don't know if the CFR bills are written that way or not.

[Quicksilver]

These fools believe that campaign finance reform will protect them from themselves. Pass whatever scheme they want, sign it, let the chips fall where they fall. I don't want to hear anymore CFR crap from these fools after they shackle themselves to whatever albatross they make.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

If this ever passes you'll be wearing the dog's muzzle.John McCain wants to silence the NRA and the little guy!

[VA Advogado]

Ouch. Not good news.