How McCain Already Opted Out and His Weak Record on Reform

[Hope And Change]

Obama Camp Memo on Public Financing


TO: Interested Parties
FR: The Obama Campaign

RE: How McCain Already Opted Out and His Weak Record on Reform
DA: June 19, 2008

John McCain made the decision to fund his general election campaign with private money when he broke from the primary matching fund system, which he did over Federal Election Commission objections, to make use of privately raised, “primary” money raised under “primary” limits for general election-related purposes. This began in early February when, with the conclusion of the Super-Tuesday primary and the withdrawal two days later of his lead opponent Mitt Romney, McCain became the presumptive nominee.

Since that time, McCain has used that money, and he proposes to use it for the next three months, to run a fully private general election campaign in coordination with the RNC. He has raised money for his own campaign and the RNC for the general. He has spent this money, in coordination with the RNC, for a wide range of general election-related expenses. The expenditures have included those for media in a host of states—states in which the Republican nominating choice was made long ago. And unlike a publicly funded primary or general election candidate, McCain is free to spend whatever amount he can raise.

McCain Began Campaigning As A General Election Candidate After The February 5th Primaries.

· USA Today reported on March 5, 2008, that McCain, having clearly won the nomination, “turns attention to November.” “From this point forward,” the story noted, “his campaign will only speak in general election terms. The agenda includes raising money, targeting specific states, refining policy positions, and coordinating events with the RNC.”

· “The McCain campaign has installed several loyalists over at the RNC to begin coordinating efforts between the party and the campaign.” “McCain Uses Breathing Room to Focus on Refilling Coffers”, New York Times (March 10, 2008).

· McCain’s campaign enlisted the help of the RNC to develop the general election apparatus for specific states. One example is Wisconsin, where McCain and the RNC are structuring a voter turn-out operation, supported by up to ten offices state-wide. “McCain Aims to Win State”, Wisconsin State Journal (May 1, 200
8)

· McCain’s FEC reports indicate the full range of expenditures that would be expected for a general election candidate. These have included “GOTV consulting”—most certainly a general election related expenditure—as well as media advertising in states critical to his general election prospects.

· The McCain campaign has run ads in a range of states certain to be contested in the general. The scale of the spending has been significant. For example, in Ohio, the McCain campaign spent as of the first of June—and since he became the nominee—$810,000, for 21,000 ads in that state with approximately 400 in each media market. In a state the size of West Virginia, the McCain campaign has run some 475 general election spots so far.By June, McCain’s spending for media was approaching a pace of $1.2 million a week. Ads run by the McCain campaign since he became the presumptive nominee have included:

o “Ignite” released on April 15 in Ohio and Pennsylvania;

o “Health Care Action” released on April 29 in Iowa;

o “Health Solutions” released on May 2 in Ohio;

o “Accountable” released on May 9 in Iowa and again on May 28 in Michigan and Pennsylvania;

o “A Better Way” released on May 12 in Oregon;

o “Leading” released on May 16 in Iowa

· As the Wall Street Journal noted, “McCain Has the TV-Ad Scene to Himself.” “The ads,” the Journal wrote, “are particularly effective because nobody is airing competing ads to counter them.” Article available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121236874347836633.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121236874347836633.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news>

McCain Has Been Funding His General Election Campaign with Privately Raised “Primary” Money.

· On Super Tuesday, on February 5, McCain to all appearances secured his position as the presumptive nominee. On February 6, the day after, the McCain campaign informed the Federal Election Commission that it was “withdrawing” from the primary matching fund system.

· After withdrawing from the public system, McCain and the RNC have aggressively sought private “primary” money in order to fund general-election campaign expenses, and this, the McCain campaign believes, is a significant advantage for McCain. “McCain Camp claims it has money lead over Obama,” The Hill (May 27, 2008).

· The “primary” money raised has come exclusively from private money sources—including the maximum contribution of $28,500 that the RNC could accept from any one donor. The McCain campaign has made “coordination” with the RNC a centerpiece of its general election fundraising, and McCain’s campaign manager has been personally involved in appealing for the maximum contribution to the RNC’s general election programs. See http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0408/McCain_manager_makes_the_DC_rounds.html <http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0408/McCain_manager_makes_the_DC_rounds.html>

· In addition to funding his general election campaign through private money sources, the McCain campaign also expects to benefit from the expenditures of 527 groups. Despite condemning 527 ads in 2004, McCain has made clear that he expects that 527s will attack Senator Obama and that he is not willing to referee them. “’I Can’t Be a Referee’: Drops 2004 crusade against ‘527’ attack ads.” Boston Herald (June 12, 2008).

By The Time McCain Accepts His Party’s Nomination, He Will Have Run A General Election Campaign, Funded With Private And Not Public Funds, For Seven Months.
· The McCain campaign did not leave the primary matching fund system until the nomination had been effectively secured, and did so in order to exploit the enormous advantage to be gained through raising “private” primary money without limit to pay for general election expenses until the date of the convention.

· By doing so McCain has dramatically improved his fundraising. In all of 2007, McCain raised $37 million, as one of a number of candidates for the nomination, though for much of that period the frontrunner. In just the period covered by this year’s April and May fundraising reports, McCain shows $33 million in just those two months alone.

· McCain’s 2007 year-end report shows total contributions of $6,836,072.13 for the period October through December 2007, or an average of $2,278,690.71 per month. In January 2008, when McCain’s campaign secured a firm grip on the nomination, McCain raised $11,730,045.17, more than five times the average monthly receipts during the previous quarter. In February 2008, McCain raised $11,014,611.37; in March 2008, McCain raised $15,192,499.28; in April 2008, McCain raised $17,815,790.47.

McCain’s Reform Credentials Have Grown Weak

McCain Voted To Eliminate the Presidential Public Financing System. John McCain voted against an amendment sponsored by Senator Kerry to strike the provisions in the 1995 budget resolution that sought to eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which is supported by a check-off on tax returns. McCain voted with Senator Mitch McConnell, who, at the time, said that the presidential campaign financing system “ought to end up on the ash heap of history.”
McCain Removed His Name From Campaign Finance Legislation. “People involved in the Republican primary campaign of Senator John McCain of Arizona say he, too, is beginning to seek private donations for the primary and general elections, albeit with the option of returning them. A longtime proponent of campaign finance change, Mr. McCain has recently removed his name as a co-sponsor of a bill to expand the presidential public financing program.”

McCain Was “Noticeably Missing” >From Latest Campaign Finance Reform Legislation To Avoid Hypocrisy If He Side Steps The System In 2008. With John McCain “noticeably missing” as one of the former “key proponents of BCRA,” Senator Feingold and Congressmen Shays and Meehan offered campaign finance reform legislation “to raise the spending limits for the primary and general elections and significantly boost the matching funds available to candidates. McCain, who was “conspicuously absent from the latest effort” was not made available for comment by his office. “Several people involved in discussions about the legislation said the senator’s absence was related to his widely expected bid for the presidency in 2008.” Meredith McGehee, a “longtime advocate for campaign finance reform,” said of McCain, “He does not want to be caught in a position where he can be accused, rightly or wrongly, of hypocrisy” should he opt out of public financing during the Republican presidential primary.”
McCain The Reformer Different From McCain The Candidate; Expects GOP To Use 527s, Raising Money From Those Who Once Championed Soft Money In Politics. “But now the contrast between McCain the presidential candidate and McCain the reformer can be jarring. McCain’s campaign says that he is still studying whether to forgo the public financing and spending limits he has long supported, but that he will not be handicapped by restrictions his competitors will not face in 2008. McCain the reformer worked unsuccessfully through Congress and the courts to try to stop nonprofit political groups known as 527s from using unlimited donations to run political ads and fund other activities aimed at influencing voters in the run-up to elections. He reintroduced legislation last week to end 527 donations, but there appears to be little appetite in Congress to pass it. McCain the candidate now expects Republicans to use the same big-money 527 groups in the 2008 elections to beat Democrats, if the groups remain legal. “The senator believes that both parties should be subjected to an even playing field. If Democratic organizations are allowed to take advantage of 527s, Republican organizations will, too,” said Mark Salter, a senior McCain adviser. The senator declined to be interviewed. McCain the reformer relentlessly argued that six- and seven-figure “soft money” checks that corporations, wealthy individuals and unions were giving to political parties to influence elections were corrupting American politics. “The voices of average Americans have been drowned out by the deafening racket of campaign cash,” he warned just a few years ago. McCain the candidate has enlisted some of the same GOP fundraising giants who created and flourished in the soft-money system, including Bush’s fundraising “Pioneers” and “Rangers,” who earned their designations by raising at least $100,000 or $200,000 for his campaigns. At least six of McCain’s first eight national finance co-chairmen have given or raised large donations for political parties or 527 groups, campaign and IRS records show. In all, the finance co-chairs have given at least $13.5 million in soft money and 527 donations since the 1998 election.”

McCain Called Feingold’s Proposal To Force Lobbyists To Disclose All Contact With Legislators “Too Onerous” For Lobbyists. “Democrats also are pushing for more robust disclosure of lobbyists’ activities, including a proposal by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., to require the reporting of all phone calls and meetings between lobbyists and lawmakers and what issue or bill they are seeking to influence. McCain said Tuesday he had considered the idea, but viewed it as ‘too onerous’ on the lobbying community.”

Ø McCain Sided With Conservative Lobbying Group Against Reporting Requirements For Grassroots Advocacy. Conservative grassroots activists, including Grover Norquist, formed LobbySense, a non-profit group aimed to “take on lobbying reform proposals that call for increased disclosure for the lobbying activities of certain grassroot groups, coalitions and associations,” championed by McCain. The spokesperson for LobbySense, Kerri Houston said that “her group is lobbying McCain’s office to consider redrafting their legislation to reflect the groups concerns,” and McCain seemed to have agreed with their opposition. Facing increasing opposition from groups such as LobbySense, “McCain, a leader in the push for the grassroots advocacy reporting] legislation, said he was ambivalent about the reporting requirement for citizen advocacy groups. ‘I don’t want it to take down the whole legislation,’ he said.”


http://thepage.time.com/obama-camp-memo-on-public-financing/

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. McCain=weak=Bush

just two words:

WEAK and BUSH

[Hope And Change]

2. Kick!

[FrenchieCat]

3. K&R

Needs rec so Media sees it....with their blind selves.