A Simple Case Against John McCain
There is a simple reason why I won’t be voting for John McCain in either the GOP primary or a general election in 2008 - his stance on campaign finance reform. It’s not a bad idea to attempt to take out the big money donations that political campaigns are funded with, but it’s worse to limit groups’ 1st Amendment rights by banning targeted “issue ads” 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election. This is what McCain-Feingold has done. Frankly, the act needs to be repealed or amended to do away with 1st Amendment restrictions.
A summary of what McCain-Feingold bans in terms of targeted communications under section 204 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001:
Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) proposed an amendment that prohibits non-profit corporations exempt under sections of 501(c)(4) and 527 of the Internal Revenue Code from running “targeted communications.” A targeted communication is a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication run within 60 days of a general election (or 30 days of a primary election) featuring the name or likeness of a candidate whose audience primarily consists of the residents of the state associated with the identified candidate in the advertisement.
I think the following video clip helps explain why many conservatives don’t trust John McCain with the White House:
May 17th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
If the 527s were balanced out with real and viable public funding, would campaign finance reform be more acceptable?
May 17th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
No, it would not be more acceptable. The reason many conservatives oppose McCain’s version of Campaign Finance Reform is that it limits groups’ free speech. Under section 204 of McCain-Feingold, groups cannot talk about specific candidates in their issue ads, with black out dates of 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary. This attack on the first amendment must stop!