Free Republic

"Republicans do not need, and should not attempt, to muzzle their opponents."Nancy Pelosi? Harry Reid? Howard Dean?Try Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), presumed 2008 presidential candidate, in a laudable attempt to return the Republican Party to its historic role as opponent of political-speech regulation. While Newt Gingrich has been railing against 2002's McCain-Feingold legislation in recent months, Allen's attack on the GOP's current effort to regulate so-called 527 groups -- independent organizations banned from coordinating with candidates or parties -- makes him the first top-tier '08 candidate to come out swinging against campaign-finance "reform."Whether it's enough to force a serious confrontation...

THE CAMPAIGN-FINANCE SCANDALS of Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection left a bitter aftertaste. Having secured his reelection, Clinton resorted to the favorite stratagem of presidents in need of political cover--the appointment of a bipartisan commission. The bipartisan commission was to study the reform of campaign finance law. To conservatives, the appointment of a bipartisan commission was a non sequitur. The 1996 scandals were scandals because they involved violations of existing law. Nevertheless, talking about the need for campaign-finance reform helped President Clinton to change the subject. On March 17, 1997, Clinton announced the appointment of former Vice President Walter Mondale to...