Never Say Democrats Haven’t Got a Lot of Nerve
April 14th, 2008 at 04:04am Mark Noonan
While fat cats are out there buying Obama and Hillary still has massive questions about her fundraising - past and present - it takes a Democrat to just ignore all that, and turn about and try to trip McCain up on what is, at worst, a campaign finance technicality:
The Democratic National Committee announced today it will file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Monday to force Sen. John McCain to stay in the public financing system until he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination in September.
The lawsuit asks the Court to compel the FEC to conduct an investigation into McCain’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the public financing system, and, should the FEC continue to fail to do so, to allow the DNC to sue McCain directly for disobeying campaign finance laws.
“We believe he’s breaking the law every day,” said DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon on a conference call Sunday.
The complaint faces some significant hurdles. For one, the FEC is hamstrung from dealing with the complex legal issues by a shortage of commissioners — four of six seats are vacant pending senate confirmations — and each additional step in the suit would drag out the process. So long as it remains unresolved, McCain will be able to continue to spend above the primary limits.
Then there is the McCain campaign’s argument — crafted by the candidate’s lawyer, a former FEC chairman — that public financing is voluntary, and McCain had every right to withdraw from the system when it became clear the campaign wouldn’t need federal matching money.
Why are Democrats doing this? Two reasons:
1. They want to prevent McCain from effectively capitalising on the mess in the Democratic nominating process. As time goes on, the fissures in the Democratic party grow wider and cobbling the coaltion back together in September is already going to be hard enough - they don’t want it to also have to overcome months of McCain presenting a postive image of himself to the national audience.
2. They want to deflect attention from the campaign finance irregularities prevalent not just in the Democratic Presidential campaigns, but throughout the larger party, and of course in those “independent” expenditures which always seem to dovetail so nicely into DNC plans. Muddy the waters and hope to coast past the election before anyone really calls into question what the Democrats have been up to.
There is something extra disgusting in the party which patented illegal campaign finance presuming to tell Mr. Campaign Finance Reform that he’s in violation of the finance laws. While the likes of William Jefferson still sit in the Democratic House caucus, is this really the proper time for Democrats to concern themselves with the more arcane aspects of our campaign laws? Well, yes, of course it is - Jefferson and his cold, hard cash aren’t a problem - McCain is. Why is that? Because McCain poses a threat of Democratic defeat in November, and that - for Democrats - is the worst thing which can happen. Next to that, a mere dishonest slander of an American hero is nothing…
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Corruption, Democrats, Republicans
18 Comments
1. Freedom1 | April 14th, 2008 at 4:15 am
This is just a typical, fall-back tactic of the Democrats. Hell of an example they set for the world./sarcasm
The jihadists learned “lawsuit jihad” from the Demoncrats.
2. Freedom1 | April 14th, 2008 at 4:54 am
P.S., for those of you who are unfamiliar with the meaning of “lawsuit jihad” aka “legal jihad”, edify yourselves: “legal jihad” (see especially page 2). Legal jihad is extraordinarily effective and damaging to Americans’ freedoms, civil liberties, and basic human rights.
3. winnowhead | April 14th, 2008 at 5:40 am
As is typical for you, Mark, you address a GOP issue by framing it around the evil and monolithic Democrats. Presumably that means you’ve got no real argument for why McCain’s public financing-backed loan precludes him from opting out of the system.
(and seriously, do you really think this is about a campaign issue for Democrats? it’s obviously about limiting the amount of money McCain can spend during the “gop primary” attacking his general election opponent. occam’s razor, mark… it’s not rocket science.)
4. Sarah Bloch | April 14th, 2008 at 6:40 am
1) Can you define exactly what these “fissures” are supoosed to be that are dividing the Democrats that go beyond that they have two choices for their nominee?
2) I note that you point to Congressman Jefferson the lone member of Congress on the Democratic side that is glaringly corrupt in my opinion. I am a partisn unlike many of the others who serve the cause of journalism, I am a Democrat and a Liberal and I make no bones about it. As a partisan yourself I would call on you to make your charges known to the RNC so they can go after the DNC. Since I feel these charges are just allegations made up in the box in the corner of your mind where politicval opinions come from I would suggest you continue preaching to your chouir here and praying that the Democratic nominee is satisfied ruining McCain’s chances of being president and not the man himself.
The DNC has sent people to Vietnam and to every city from San Diego to Norfolk to seek tidbits about McCain that are lost on the average voter today but come October little blurbs about campaign finance will be meaningless.
Class dismissed.
5. Christian Wright | April 14th, 2008 at 7:11 am
McCain is breaking a federal election law.
Does that make him a felon?
6. Rana Quijotesca | April 14th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Just the other day, you wrote a post berating Barack Obama for not matching his rhetoric in terms of campaign contribution (aka campaign finance). Now, John “Mr. Campaign Finance” McCain is reneging on the legal requirements of Public Campaign finance, and you blame the Democrats? wow… you are a blind partisan…
7. Diana Powe | April 14th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Senator John McCain is a war hero so he is allowed to do anything he wants including violating the law which bears his own name. Now, that’s an interesting conceit. The legal issue may be “arcane” and a “technicality” to some, however, the basis arc of the story is quite straightforward.
A few months ago, John McCain found himself on the ropes because his campaign was running out of money. Republican donations were going elsewhere for the primary. Desperate for cash, he applied to the Federal Elections Commission for matching federal funds which action has the downside of restricting the total amount of money he could spend during the primary season as a matter of law. Before accepting the first check, he borrowed $4 million from a Maryland bank using the promised federal dollars as a guarantee of repayment which is one of the acts specifically mentioned in the statute as part of an agreement to accept matching funds.
Fast forward a couple of months. Senator McCain is poised to be the presumptive nominee and donations are coming in. That legally binding agreement with the FEC is now extremely inconvenient. So, what does he do? He gets his lawyer to write a letter saying that he just doesn’t want to honor the agreement anymore so the FEC can just keep the money (and its attendant spending limits). The problem is that the chairman of the FEC (nominated for his present term by President Bush) wrote back and said that the FEC must agree to allow the McCain campaign to withdraw and they can’t do that because there isn’t a quorum of FEC commissioners to vote on the question.
An “arcane” “technicality”? No, Senator McCain was for campaign finance before he was against it.
8. FmrMarine | April 14th, 2008 at 10:48 am
SB
>>>>I am a partisn unlike many of the others who serve the cause of journalism, I am a Democrat and a Liberal and I make no bones about it.<<>>>>Why are Democrats doing this? Two reasons:<<<<
Two reasons,
they are marxists attempting to retain power,
they have a socialist anti American agenda.
it seems so.
One of the many GLBT, NAMBLA trolls who attempt to disrupt here daily? YES
9. Sarah Bloch | April 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
8. FmrMarine | April 14th, 2008 at 10:48 am
As opposed to the Christian fascists on your side who dreamt and wrote of a “permanent majority” in Congress? Now tell me what happens when all the abortion clinics are closed and all those undesirable sodomites are in camps or have been reeducated? What are you going to tackle next using illegal immigrants to fix the crumbling infrastructure?
And I am a straight woman by the way and a victims advocate who doesn’t appreciate being accused of illegal associations with groups like NAMBLA. Imagine what would happen to a comment that said that organization was full of priests? But being mean spirited makes other mouth breathing conservos chuckle just like they do when they listen to Rush and if you’re laughing at the “enemy” you must be winning. The best thing that can happen to the Democratic Party is a showdown in Denver that issues forth and unbeatable candidate in November.
For me it doesn’t matter because one way or the other I win. Elect a Democrat and America gets it secular moral compass back in proper alignment; elect McCain and the whole world can watch you collapse in 5 years.
10. Joe | April 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am
FmrMarine says…….
One of the many GLBT, NAMBLA trolls who attempt to disrupt here daily? YES
Mark, I have to say… if any “leftie” posters here said something to this affect about the “righties”, not only would the comment be deleted, but we would probably be banned.
Anyway, about the post…
“While fat cats are out there buying Obama…”
This is the second time lately that you brought up these “fat cats” that are “buying” Obama, yet you provide NO proof he is being “bought”. All you have brought up is that some wealthy folk are donating to his campaign. Of course you also fail to ever mention that more than half of the money raised have come from donations of less than $200 and he has the most donors.
So keep spreading the lies about him being “bought by fat cats”. That will go the same way as claiming he is a racist, communist, Muslim, FARC-supporting, terrorist-hugging, corrupt, gay crackhead.
11. Tractatus | April 14th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Now, John “Mr. Campaign Finance” McCain is reneging on the legal requirements of Public Campaign finance, and you blame the Democrats?
Around here, it’s always the Democrats’ fault. Always. Doesn’t matter what it is or if it even involves Democrats in any way, shape, or form; it’s their fault. It’s just a matter of piecing together the justification (”It’s their fault because…”) like some wingnut version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
12. Amanda | April 14th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Realise, capitalising…
Seriously, Mark, you need to justify your spelling. Aren’t you a full-blooded American? Why do you hate the letter “z” so much?
13. InDaVa | April 14th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I think it’s a little more than a technicality….McCain should abide by his word on public financing. The man who chalks up campaign finance reform as one of his accomplishments doesn’t want it to apply to him.
14. SteaM | April 14th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Is it illegal? Is what McCain is doing against the law?
Is it or is it not?
Simple questions.
15. Diana Powe | April 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Of course, if the situation were different and Senator Clinton or Senator Obama were the presumptive Democratic nominee who had asked for matching funds but was now wanting to violate that agreement there is no doubt that there would be non-stop condemnation from posters and commenters at Blogs For Victo(r)y.
16. InDaVa | April 14th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
The religious Right fat cats have owned the Republican party for the past 50 years.
“FmrMarine says??.
One of the many GLBT, NAMBLA trolls who attempt to disrupt here daily? YES
Mark, I have to say? if any ?leftie? posters here said something to this affect about the ?righties?, not only would the comment be deleted, but we would probably be banned.”
Agreed, and FmrMarine don’t flatter yourself. I’m sure they don’t give 2 turds what BFV or you have to say.
17. FmrMarine | April 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
sarah belch
>>>>As opposed to the Christian fascists<<<<
AH - AH - AH
YOUR hate is showing, you have been exposed as a Christophobic, and it is ugly.
While fat cats are out there buying Obama and Hillary still has massive questions about her fundraising - past and present - it takes a Democrat to just ignore all that, and turn about and try to trip McCain up on what is, at worst, a campaign finance technicality:
How true, hypocrites all.
18. congressive | April 14th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
How dare the Democrats enforce the law championed by McCain against McCain?
Those bastards! Don’t they realize it’s a lot like the pirate code “parlay” - more of a guideline than a rule?