July 4th wrote:Actually, you are only partially right.
This decision in no way takes "big money" out of the process. The money just can't go to parties now. It can go to issue advocacy groups, like the NRA and MoveOn - as we have already seen with Soros. How they can spend it may be restricted, but they can raise as much as they want.
Now, with the 60 day limitations on "electioneering communications," nobody can spend money on "electioneering communicaitons" within 60 days of a federal election or within 30 days of a federal primary.
So, within the next few weeks, Ashcroft will have to start rounding up the liberal groups who produce television ads for or against issues and/or candidates in the Dem primaries within 30 days of those primaries. That's going to work really well for this administration. If they enforce the law, the Dems will scream that they are meddling in the Dem primary process. If they don't enforce the law, the "victims" of the attack adds by issue advocacy groups will say that the Bush administration is derelict in their duty to enforce the campaign finance laws, and we need D's in the whitehouse so that these important laws can be enforced.
This was a big trap for the Bush administration, and the president should have seen it coming and vetoed the CFR law to begin with.
I remember the election in 2000 where the dooms-day crowd had Gore stealing the election. The Tinfiol Brigade had the evil Bush illuminati stealing the country and turning it over to the "NEW WORLD ORDER".
Maybe it is better to simply settle down and be more realistic. This is not different that it was in the past and there are good points to this legislation