Dean to Propose Donation Limit

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who opted out of the federal campaign finance system so he could avoid its spending limits, today will propose a steep reduction in the amount individuals can give to federal campaigns, his advisors said.

The plan would lower the amount a person could give to a candidate running for president or Congress from $2,000 per election to $250.

Dean’s aides said such a move would significantly alter the role of wealthy interests in politics, forcing candidates to raise money in small increments.

“That, in one bold stroke, changes politics,” a senior Dean advisor said in a briefing Wednesday.

It also would be difficult to accomplish. The campaign finance reform bill that Congress passed in 2002 after years of debate raised the cap on individual donations -- known as hard money -- from $1,000 to $2,000.

Supporters of the increase said that it reflected the rising costs of running for office, and that $2,000 was hardly enough to sway a politician’s position on an issue. The increase also was supported by reform advocates in order to win passage of the bill’s ban on the unlimited contributions to political parties, known as soft money.

“Frankly, I think in the present political climate it’s not likely that [Dean’s plan] would get past Congress,” said Larry Noble, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks the role of money in politics.

Dean’s proposal comes after the onetime Democratic frontrunner suffered a setback when he finished third in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Advisors hope the former Vermont governor’s new plan can help him regroup by putting him back on the offensive and spotlighting his reformist message.

The proposed spending limit would be an added element to a campaign finance reform initiative Dean announced in the fall and reiterated Wednesday in a speech at his Manchester headquarters. He proposes, among other measures, increasing public financing for candidates who follow spending limits and raising the amount of tax revenue funneled to the campaign finance fund.

Dean -- who has raised more than $40 million in 2003, the most ever by a Democrat -- late last year chose to forgo receiving public matching funds in exchange for being able to spend an unlimited amount of money in his race for the Democratic nomination. But aides said there was no dissonance between that decision and his spending limits proposal.

“The reason he’s not in [the public financing program] is because the system is broken,” the advisor said.

Instead, they note that Dean has successfully raised millions of dollars in small contributions, effectively curtailing the influence of wealthy contributors. More than half of the donations to his campaign received by Sept. 30 came in increments of $200 or less, according to the most recent data available.

In comparison, President Bush raised 11% of his money in small contributions through Sept. 30, the records show.

Dean has sought to stress the role of small donors in his campaign. On Wednesday, as Dean shook hands at a local doughnut shop, John Effenberger of Bedford, N.H., handed him a $500 check.

“Wow, it’s not every day you get a check from someone at Dunkin’ Donuts,” Dean said, handing it to an aide and thanking Effenberger.

“Thank you, Howard,” Effenberger responded. “Go get it.”