Summary
The evidence belies the critics' claims. Party soft money has not migrated to the 527s. They haven't raised any more money so far this election--$67 million--than they raised in 2000. The reason apparently is that many corporations and big individual donors aren't giving to 527s because they don't have a direct connection to the parties and officeholders (which tells you something about these donors' motivations).
I don't like 527s and believe we should apply McCain-Feingold's soft money ban to them as soon as possible. Unfortunately, proposed regulations to apply McCain-Feingold to 527s failed this spring. A hostile Federal Election Commission and Democratic and Republican interest groups undermined the effort. McCain-Feingold is achieving its goals of weaning the parties and candidates off soft money. Reform can and does work.It's common sense. Limits help challengers because it's incumbents, not challengers, who are most likely to get lots of big donations. Only incumbents are in a position to provide big donors legislative favors. Big donations to challengers are, after all, a poor investment because the odds are that incumbents will win. Just like Horatio Alger is an economic fantasy--and people rarely, if ever, stumble on a rich patron to pull them up from rags to riches--in politics challengers aren't going to find many big donors to come to their rescue. And the few they find won't be angelic.See the full content of this document
Extract
Three Campaign Reform Myths
Texans know that democracy is being undermined at the Capitol in Austin by big money. Texans want to restore their sovereignty but many are hesitant to act because they buy the myths of reform opponents that nothing can be done. This article exposes the falsehoods behind the three big myths of campaign reform opponents. First, it tackles the myth that reform won't work because big money will always get around any laws and find a way into politicians' pockets. Then it looks at opponents' arguments that contrib...
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