As much as it pains us to point readers’ attention to anything even remotely associated with Howard Dean, we just couldn’t ignore the DNC’s March 9th Report titled, “McCain’s Double Talk Express Hits A Fork in the Road.”
While we strongly disagree with the motivation behind the DNC’s report (Liberals actually support McCain-style assaults on political speech), we must admit that they have done a decent job at highlighting McCain’s “flip-flopping for political gain” on his signature issue — so-called “Campaign Finance Reform.”
McCain had long been a champion of public financing and campaign spending limits. But that was before his “straight talking” principles stood as a roadblock to his bid for the GOP nomination. As the DNC report points out (and as we have been noting for months)…
“Now … McCain’s campaign ‘is still studying whether to forgo the public financing and spending limits’ and has said that he ‘will not be handicapped by restrictions his competitors will not face in 2008.’
The DNC goes further…
McCain Then:
“McCain the reformer worked unsuccessfully through Congress and the courts to try to stop nonprofit political groups known as 527s from using unlimited donations to run political ads and fund other activities … in the run-up to elections.”
- McCain Now: “At least six of McCain’s first eight national finance co-chairmen have given or raised large donations for political parties or 527 groups, campaign and IRS records show. In all, the finance co-chairs have given at least $13.5 million in soft money and 527 donations since the 1998 election.”
It is important for us to mention that while the DNC would like to see McCain’s ban on 527s passed, CFIF believes such a ban would further violate the free speech and association rights of all Americans. (As we noted further up in this post, we don’t agree with the context of the DNC report.)
More…
McCain Then:
McCain “relentlessly argued that six- and seven-figure ‘soft money’ checks that corporations, wealthy individuals and unions were giving to political parties to influence elections were corrupting American politics.”
- McCain Now:”McCain the candidate has enlisted … fundraising giants who created and flourished in the soft-money system…”
McCain Then:
“Just about a year and a half ago, Sen. John McCain went to court to try to curtail the influence of a group to which A. Jerrold Perenchio gave $9 million, saying it was trying to ‘evade and violate’ new campaign laws with voter ads ahead of the midterm elections.”
- McCain Now:”As McCain launches his own presidential campaign, however, he is counting on Perenchio … to raise millions of dollars as co-chairman of the Arizona Republican’s national finance committee.”
Again, that is not a criticism of Perenchio who, in our minds and according to the plain language of the First Amendment, has every right to support causes he believes in. However, it is a criticism of John McCain who is now using people he once attacked for the sake of political expediency and who is quietly working to further silence the voices of the American people.
It has been nearly two months since CFIF asked McCain to “Talk Straight” with the American people about whether he will campaign for the GOP nomination within the public financing system. He simply continues to refuse to answer the simple yes or no question.
That is, unless you consider McCain’s vow to further muzzle free speech and association rights with legislation in the 110th Congress as an answer.
