CAMPAIGN ’88 : Leaning on ‘Fat Cats’

Common Cause asked a federal court in Washington Thursday to expedite the writing of rules expected to tighten a loophole that allows presidential campaigns to benefit from millions of dollars in indirect contributions from “fat cats.”

However, Fred Wertheimer, president of the group which lobbies for strict government ethics, acknowledged that it is unlikely that the Federal Election Commission could draft the regulations in time to keep this year’s presidential campaigns from using so-called “soft money.” Preparation of the regulations was ordered by a federal judge last year after Common Cause filed suit.

Republicans and Democrats have said they plan to raise about $67 million in “soft money” for the 1988 presidential campaigns, which are limited to receiving equal funding from the federal treasury.

The “soft money” is donated to state parties, which can use it to pay for voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives as well as other activities that could have an effect on the presidential election.

“Soft money allows a presidential campaign to raise campaign contributions that the presidential campaign finance law was enacted to ban,” Wertheimer said at a news conference. “It opens the door for ‘fat cats’ and special interest givers to provide large sums of money to help a presidential candidate and thereby creates the opportunity for these givers to buy influence with the President of the United States.”