Cash Cow Disease

Once the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill earlier this spring, it appeared that final approval in the House would be a slam-dunk. Call it a case of temporary sanity on Capitol Hill.

But now, House Republican leaders say there are “serious problems” with the Senate bill. They are talking about two months of hearings, with a possible vote in August. Even then, the vote might be on an entirely different bill.

The only serious problem here is with the thinking of campaign reform opponents who believe they can duck and nit-pick this issue into oblivion. And perhaps there are some House members with chilly feet who cast an easy vote for campaign finance reform in the past, knowing it would be killed in the Senate. They need to understand that the public now expects a reform measure to be signed into law this year. The House needs to deliver real reform.

The key proposal of Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) bans the soft money contributions to political parties by labor unions, corporations and wealthy individuals. Under post-Watergate reforms, this money was supposed to be used only for party-building activities such as voter registration and getting out the vote. But it has been corrupted through a loophole to be used directly to help a candidate’s campaign or to defeat an opposing candidate.

The House voted both times for a very similar measure sponsored by Reps. Christopher Shays (D-Conn.) and Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.). The idea that the House needs to hold extensive hearings on the issue is ludicrous. Every member of Congress knows the ins and outs of campaign fund-raising intimately. It’s part of their survival.

From Watergate in the 1970s through the Clinton-Gore fund-raising scandals of the 1996 campaign, it’s been obvious that big money works a corrupting influence on the political system. But Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the House majority whip and a chief foe of reform, said this week, “I don’t think there is enough money in the campaign system.”

As incredible as that statement is, it’s besides the point. It’s not how much money there is, but how it’s used. Soft money is used badly and in total violation of the spirit of the last campaign reform bill passed by Congress 27 years ago. This is not a complex issue. House members who try to make it so are merely trying to kill the bill. Let’s call all the excuses what they are: transparent attempts to keep the cash rolling in.