AFTER THE PASSAGE of the much-touted 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, one would think that this election season would be relatively benign in terms of negative ads. Instead, this campaign is chock full of mud-slinging from both sides, at an intensity equal to the 2000 election, if not worse.
While this CFR bill promised to bring about a new civility in campaigns (which in itself is impossible -- this is politics, after all), just the opposite has occurred. A loophole that has always been in existence -- the allowance of 527s -- is being exploited to the hilt this season.
The ultimate irony is that the CFR bill was meant to curb negative ads and undue influence of individuals, corporations and unions through large donations.
However, through these 527s, special interest groups such as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Moveon.org and Americans Coming Together have received hundreds of millions of dollars from private donors, corporations and unions. This just goes to show that there will always be a loophole, and that maybe it wasn't such a bright idea in the first place.
The 527 that is receiving the most media attention in recent days is the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group running ads censuring Kerry for his anti-war activism after his four-month tour of duty and his allegedly exaggerated war heroism.
Each candidate's response to the 527s is interesting to scrutinize. The Kerry campaign has launched an all-out offensive on the Swift Boat Vets. Bush has not slammed Moveon.org or any of the other left-leaning 527s, but has denounced all 527s after repeated calls from Kerry and Edwards to put a stop to the Swift Boat ads. If Bush were to take this action, it may be a violation of the CFR bill. Coordination between a 527 and a campaign is illegal, and no one is quite sure what constitutes coordination. Even Bradley Smith, chairman of the Federal Election Commission, was not sure whether this would be considered coordination. In a recent interview, he stated, "Well, arguably that would be coordination... I tend to think that would not, in and of itself, constitute coordination."
Kerry's ties to Moveon.org are comparable to Bush's lawyer's ties to the Swift Boat Veterans, who has since resigned from the Bush campaign. Kerry is also not running any ads during the month of August, at which time 527s such as Moveon.org are running Bush attack ads in heavy rotation.
Every group has a right to be heard. Bush-bashing 527s have received approximately $127 million in total, compared with a measly $9 million for anti-Kerry groups as of August 2004. The Kerry campaign keeps reminding the public that the Swift Boat Vets are funded in part by a "rich Republican from Texas," who has contributed monetary amounts in the hundreds of thousands, completely overlooking billionaire George Soros' funneling of support in the ballpark of $13 million to several left-wing 527s, including Moveon.org, Americans Coming Together and Campaign for America's Future.
Furthermore, Kerry has not joined Bush and McCain in an endeavor to halt all 527s, much less the ones that are attacking Bush, just as Kerry called on Bush to do.
Smith clarified Bush's ultimate authority over the Swift Boat Vets -- little to none: "But it should be understood that [Bush] can't force them to stop, just as John Kerry can't force Americans Coming Together and MoveOn and Leadership Fund to stop. And they've spent $65, $70 million."
While the CFR bill inherently restricts First Amendment rights, the Kerry campaign aided and abetted with their attempts to suppress dissent and criticism of his record from all media venues. They have written letters to the publisher urging him not to publish any more of John O'Neill's "Unfit for Command," called bookstores and asked them not to carry the book, filed a complaint with the FEC to bar them from airing the ad (a political ploy, leaving the FEC to dig around and see if any evidence actually exists), hired lawyers to sue the group, petitioned Attorney General John Ashcroft to start a criminal investigation and unearthed each of the Swift Boat Vets' past, in hopes of finding some skeletons. Despite this concerted effort, "Unfit for Command" has risen to No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller list.
The failure of the CFR bill is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy -- politicians pledging not to play politics while fighting for the survival of their political career. Bush shouldn't attempt to eliminate 527s and curb First Amendment rights even further, but Kerry should put his money where his mouth is.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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