Finance Rules Decision Unlikely by May (MoveOn,Media Fund)

[DeepModem Mom]

New York Times:

Decision on Finance Rules Is Called Unlikely by May
By GLEN JUSTICE

Published: April 16, 2004


WASHINGTON, April 15 — After two days of debate over new campaign finance rules, members of the Federal Election Commission said on Thursday that it was increasingly unlikely that they would decide on new regulations in time to have a meaningful impact on this year's races.

The commission, which has a history of deadlocks, had set a deadline of May but is struggling with tedious details over how, or whether, to place contribution limits and other restrictions on so-called 527 committees, one of the few remaining ways to collect unlimited campaign contributions.

The organizations, named for the section of the tax code that created them, became targets for new rules in large part because Democratic groups seized upon them as a way to overcome the Republicans' significant financial advantage. In particular, groups like the Moveon.org Voter Fund and the Media Fund have used the unlimited donations to pay for millions of dollars in advertisements that are sharply critical of the Bush administration....

***

The decision is an important one in this year's election because Democratic-leaning 527 committees are bolstering the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry, prompting President Bush and the Republican Party to go on the offensive to try to stop their activities....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/16/politics/campaign/16DONA.html

[German-Lefty]

1. Are 527 committees how Repubs get soft money?

Normally they're all moneyed up.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. The Republicans are indeed "moneyed up" --

Democrats, not so "moneyed-up," are using these committees in this campaign to access financial aid from grassroots organizations like MoveOn, and wealthy donors like George Soros. It is a controversial topic even among Democrats, but it's Democrats who would benefit from a delay in the FEC decision, which would allow the committees to continue operating through the campaign.

[dusty64]

3. Is the FEC also

controlled by chimp appointees, if so I guess we all know what the decision is going to be.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Sounds like even the Republicans are in agreement...

on the delay: "'I think we'll need more time,' Bradley A. Smith, the election commission's chairman and a Republican, said, echoing the sentiments of several commissioners. 'We've got to have the time for this to be properly done. We know it will be challenged in court.'"

[Mithras61]

5. He KNOWS it will be challenged in court...

because the SCOTUS only upheld the latest Campaign Finance Reform because it exempted 527s from the limits, provided they don't specifically advocate a vote for or against a candidate, they don't co-ordinate with a Federal campaign, and that they don't advertise during the blackout period (60 days before the general election, I believe). Since the SCOTUS has repeatedly held that $=Free Speech, they had to require an out.

The 'Pukes are just hollering because the Dems are out-fundraising them through grass-roots organizations like MoveOn, so they're screaming that MoveOn & Kerry are coordinating their efforts. From where I sit, though, it's apparent that if any co-ordination is happening, it's Kerry's campaign that is following the lead of the grassroots orgs after they identify the resonating issues, and that the Dem orgs aren't advocating a vote at all, just revealing the truth og Shrub's political existence (which drives the 'Pukes NUTS!)...