Senator John McCain's continued campaign for the White House, and against soft money are no secret to anyone. The Arizona Senator gained notoriety for cosponsoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), signed in 2002, and has remained a prominent voice in the still controversial debate about campaign finance.

A private fundraiser in South Carolina scheduled for tomorrow evening threatens to blemish that reputation.

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was, for better or worse, among the most significant pieces of legislation in recent history. Viewed by many as a tool to foster a more equitable distribution of political power among the population, the legislation has been nothing if not controversial.

Complaints come from such awkward bedfellows as the ACLU and Christian Coalition, and often center around its Constitutionality. Opponents say the law is an unacceptable infringement of free speech. In 2003, the ACLU lost its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue, which upheld all of the law's major provisions.

The fundraiser is intended to raise campaign funds for incumbent Adjutant General Stan Spears, the only popularly elected Adjutant General in the entire United States. The invitation to attend, which prominently lists the Arizona Senator as its Special Guest, requests a minimum donation of $100.

Such language is illegal according to the BCRA, more commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act, which specifically requires federal officeholders to limit their solicitations at fundraisers for state officials to the federally allowable limits: no more than $5000 for a state candidate.

According to an advisory opinion written by the FEC in 2003, such requests must disclose an individual’s per election contribution limit. The opinion suggests language to guide candidates who are wary of the FEC's interpretation of semantics: “I am asking for a donation of up to $2000 per election from an individual's own funds [or up to $5,000 per election from a multi-candidate political committee or a political party committee]. I am not asking for funds from corporations, labor organizations or minors.”

Senator McCain’s appearance at the fundraiser also contrasts sharply with the views expressed last year in a letter to the FEC, which he co-authored with Sen. Feingold and two other Senators. The letter urged the FEC to “respect the language” of the pair’s legislation, and “bar Federal officeholders and candidates from soliciting any non-Federal funds when speaking at party fundraisers.” The FEC ultimately ruled against the co-authors of the legislation.

In July 2004, Senator McCain appeared before the Senate Rules Committee to continue his crusade against what he called "the problem...of the influence of big money in the political process." In August 2006, the Senator seems to have relieved big money’s influence on the political process of its stigma, at least for another couple years.

Sources

BCRA Info: http://www.fec.gov/pages/bcra/rulemakings/rulemakings_bcra.shtml
Supreme Court Decision on BCRA: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/02-1674.pdf
Spears Fundraiser Invitation: http://www.senatemajority.com/files/SpearsInvite.pdf
FEC Advisory Opinion: http://ao.nictusa.com/ao/no/030003.html
McCain’s Letter: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/nprm/cand_solicitation_party/comm06.pdf
McCain’s Testimony: http://www.reforminstitute.org/cgi-data/article/files/239.shtml

[Edited on August 16, 2006 at 9:54 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2006 9:29:54 PM

Quote :

"Gamecat: Viewed by many as a tool to foster a more equitable distribution of political power among the population..."

who were the fruitcakes naïve enough to believe that? 

8/16/2006 9:52:53 PM

Authors, yea votes, signers, and the people who encouraged them to pass this.

Do you have anything specific to assert?

8/16/2006 10:00:01 PM

98% incumbency rate!!!
The best incumbency rate unconstitutionality can buy!

8/17/2006 1:23:18 AM

?

8/17/2006 1:41:32 AM

^ I was pointing out that an intendend consequence of Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was to make sure everyone in congress gets re-elected to congress.

8/17/2006 11:29:54 AM

^aha gg

8/17/2006 11:53:30 AM

^^ Unfortunately, the paper trail on that's a little thin. Link?

8/17/2006 3:44:37 PM

Uncompetitive Elections and the American Political System
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3941


I'm sure there are more people talking about it, but Cato is just so easy to use.

8/17/2006 5:22:37 PM

For the record, I admitted it was imperfect from the start. In fact, I think that was about the most politically neutral piece of journalism the Soap Box has seen in a while...and I wrote it.

I appreciate the info, though.

8/17/2006 8:18:07 PM