UPDATE: “McCain Allies Find Finance Law Holes” – WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday the questionable tactics used by McCain supporters to circumvent current campaign finance laws. (You may have heard of McCain-Feingold?) The story comes days after Senator Obama took some flak for opting out of the public financing system, when his initial comments in the campaign seemed to indicate he would participate. Well, right choice to opt out.

First, the WSJ explains:

“In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain.

The Republican Governors Association isn’t subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states.

That makes the group “the best way to help McCain,” says donor David Hanna, who gave $25,000 — more than 10 times the legal cap of $2,300 for direct gifts to presidential candidates.”

It was so thoughtful and classy for Senator McCain to oppose any independent 527 groups (like the “Swift Boat Veterans”) working in his favor. But guess who the big donors are to the Republican Governor’s Association? The same people funding the smear swift boat ads from 2004. And there’s more:

“In another Republican strategy, the McCain campaign itself last month began soliciting its biggest donations yet — up to $70,100 per check. The technique is to establish a joint fund-raising account that brings together the legal maximum gifts for the candidate, the national party and four state parties with contests pivotal to the outcome. The combined maximum is the most that any presidential candidate has solicited since the 2002 McCain-Feingold reforms. The campaign raised $3 million for the fund in a matter of days during a string of fund-raisers last month.”

$70,100 is a lot of money, and a considerable amount higher than the legal maximum (set by Senator McCain) of $2,300. The richest of the rich and giant corporations donate dollars to the Republican funds, all in an effort to help Senator McCain win the White House and keep their incredible tax breaks and influence in the United States government. Democrats should be proud of Senator Obama’s choice to opt out. Republicans should be scared. Here’s hoping true public financing takes down corporate influence in 2008.

Tells you what he thinks

John McCain says Obama’s word cannot be trusted. Yes, we saw Barack Obama adjust his campaign finance decision for this campaign, but he remains in favor of a functioning public financing system, and opted out to combat the massive fundraising of the Republican party and the independent smear organizations. Together these groups basically circumvent the restrictions.

We need to look only at one example to see whose word we can trust, who is ready to lead. Senator Obama goes to Detroit automobile plants and promotes the absolute need for higher fuel standards. (This is not some “tree-hugger” quest; It’s a change we need for our environment, our safety, and our future.) McCain went to Houston and flip-flopped hard on offshore drilling and told oil executives that it would be in our best interest (read: oil executives’ wallets) to start drilling in new areas near our coastal states.

Instead of destroying the economy by eliminating the market for tourism, and literally killing our planet with massive oil drills, let’s restore funding to the American science community. According to the the American Physical Society:

“The appropriated funds do not allow the Department of Energy to address several critical needs which, if left unresolved much longer, will place our nation’s innovation and competitiveness at great risk.”

From the most practical and even political aspect, at a time where fuel prices are always on the rise and one of the top issues in the 2008 presidential election, we are failing to fund energy research with the potential to develop viable alternatives, end our addition to foreign oil (often found in enemy nations), and preserve our security. (Release)

John McCain finds offshore drilling to be a convenient sound bite, designed to fool Americans into thinking help is on the way. But it’s nothing of the sort; any “help” is years away, and the new development will have no effect on speculation for the future (which supposedly would lower prices now) when OPEC still reins supreme in the market for oil. These words are only what we want to hear. These words we cannot trust.

Right way, wrong time

I do not think Senator Obama should have said he would pursue a publicly funded general election campaign. I do not know if he ever specifically “promised” to use the public funds, but either way, it makes his recent decision all to easy to criticize. In the end, the positives outweigh the negatives. While campaign finance reform is certainly necessary to break from the rigid two-party pandering mold, the current system seems worthless. The intentions are great, but how can a Democrat compete with the complicated structure of the Republican National Committee and the “independent” 527 organizations? We can’t.

Directly on McCain’s contribution page, you’ll find this statement:

“Contributions to John McCain 2008 and the John McCain 2008 General Election Compliance Fund are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income-tax purposes. In accordance with federal limits, a contribution is designated first for John McCain 2008, with the contribution’s balance designated for the Compliance Fund. For contributions to John McCain 2008 (primary-election account), an individual may give up to $2,300, a couple may give up to $4,600, and a federal multi-candidate PAC may give up to $5,000. For contributions to the Compliance Fund, an individual may give up to $2,300, a couple may give up to $4,600, and a federal multi-candidate PAC may give up to $5,000. Contributions to the Compliance Fund will be used solely for legal and accounting services to ensure compliance with federal law, including a portion of the cost of broadcast advertising, campaign offices, and computer/website expenses. Federal law prohibits Compliance Fund contributions from being used for a candidate’s election. Contributions from corporations, unions, government contractors, national banks, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status are prohibited. *Federal law requires us to report the name, address, occupation, and employer of any contributor who gives more than $200 in an election cycle.”

This “compliance fund” is a perfect example of what must be intentionally confusing systems to avoid scrutiny and investigation by the typical donor, the typical America. The compliance fund cannot be “used for a candidate’s election,” but it can be used to ensure compliance with federal law, and even computer and website expenses? The difference lies only in the legal language; too complicated for me and millions of others.

On top of the convoluted compliance fund, the RNC collects donations for general advertising (technically not authorized by a candidate, but clearly they’re not promoting Barack Obama), and the independent groups spread the “Muslim” and “unpatriotic” rumors like E! with the newest Brittany Spears fiasco. I’m no political lawyer, but it seems like the richest of the richest and the largest corporations can contribute huge sums to these efforts without limits.

Now here’s Senator Obama sharing his decision to forgo the public funds:

His explanation is clear, simple, and logical. Public financing for presidential elections is broken, and the Republicans are “masters at gaming this broken system.” Senator Obama supports the idea, but not the current implementation. Hopefully, the next president will push for fair and functional public funds for the future.

Obama changed his mind, and the pundits will start with the flip-flip talk. But below the surface, beyond the attacks, we can see the evolution of this decision. The Senator offered his verbal support and promised to pursue public funds with the cooperation of the Republican nominee. Alas, Obama and his team correctly realized the danger of accepting public funds and limiting the campaign while McCain and the Republicans essentially roam free.

This country seems to disapprove of changing positions, and rightfully so: it’s not attractive to see McCain pander to voters with complete reversals on tax-cuts and drilling for oil. Hopefully in the case of Senator Obama and public financing, we’ll see the profound thought and deliberate progression leading to the final choice (and no, it’s not the same as McCain and drilling; the claim of seeing $4/gal and switching to help the American people is utter lies when help is at least half a decade away). This is the exactly the kind of leadership we need.