FEC mess
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Fri May 09, 2008 at 01:50:06 PM EST
After months without a functioning FEC, as we called on Senate leadership to find suitable nominees and re-constitute the important -- if often ineffectual -- commission in time for the peak of election season, this week it looked like we might have caught a break. Sen. Harry Reid's office spoke with the White House, and the White House sent six FEC nominations (three D, three R) to the Senate.
How quickly hopes can crumble.
We've recently heard that Sen. Mitch McConnell is poised to insist on a package deal -- all or none -- rather than allowing each nominee to get an up or down vote.
This is an unworkable proposal, not unexpected from McConnell, a bitter opponent to all campaign finance regulation. First, the choice of nominees reflects a remarkably partisan and subversive intention towards the FEC, in particular the selection of Hans von Spakovsky and Donald McGhan and the removal of current chairman David Mason from the list. CC Prez Bob Edgar sent this letter to the entire U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Here's part of his beef:
We continue to oppose the White House's choice of Hans von Spakovsky to the FEC and urge Senators to vote against his confirmation.
We also oppose the nomination of Donald McGhan to the FEC. McGhan served as counsel to former Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) on matters of campaign finance reform and ethics. As you know, Mr. Delay was indicted on campaign finance violations by the U.S. Attorney's office in Texas and was admonished repeatedly by the House Commission of Official Standards of Conduct. It would be difficult to find a more ill-suited candidate.
The subject of stripping Mason's name off the list brought back memories of a similar purge in Common Cause's early days, however, and is in some ways the most egregious piece of this whole maneuver.
The White House has also declined to renominate Chairman David Mason after twice proposing him for a seat on the commission. The White House's change of heart appears to be in response to Mason's letter of Feb. 19, 2008, to the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain, asserting that McCain's campaign needed FEC approval to opt out of the federal matching funds system during the primary election. Senator McCain has ignored Chairman Mason's letter and continues to spend campaign money far in excess of matching fund spending limits.
In his letter, Mr. Mason pointed to a loan agreement Senator McCain signed that might automatically enter him into a binding agreement for matching funds. If the FEC were to determine that Senator McCain can not withdraw from the public finance system, he would be in violation of the law's spending limits.
President Bush's dismissal of Chairman Mason is reminiscent in spirit at least of President Nixon's removal of Archibald Cox as independent special prosecutor after his decision to subpoena the President during the Watergate investigation. Cox later became the chairman emeritus of Common Cause. Then, the White House abused its power to fire a law enforcement official who valued the rule of law more than party loyalty. Now, the White House appears to be abusing politics to fire a regulator for the sake of party loyalty.
The White House is pushing to pack the FEC with partisan loyalists while punishing a Republican FEC commissioner who dared do his duty and act independently by questioning the party's presidential nominee.
This all may be moot, given that opposition to von Spakovsky has been fierce and well-organized and McConnell is pushing for a single vote on the package. Hans' nomination could torpedo the package. And if his doesn't, McGhan's should. Despite the importance of the upcoming elections, we'd be better served with no FEC than with a commission hostile to its own purpose.
Tags: FEC, hans von spakovsky, donald mcghan, senate, john mccain, david mason (all tags)
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account just by filling out the form below. It's quick and free.
