Warren Beatty and Campaign finance reform

Chris Burford cburford at gn.apc.org
Thu Oct 14 15:17:21 PDT 1999


In the fourth week of August Warren Beatty wrote a letter to the New York Times, (later published in the International Herald Tribune) calling for the complete public financing of all federal campaigns, and challenging Bradley and Gore where they stood on this.

"We can overcome the power of big money to corrupt our political system and the government it elects. At the rate of spending in 1996 and 1998, the people can buy their country back from big contributors for half the price of one movie ticket, per year, per person.

It will be possible for a president to arrest our slide from democracy to plutocracy only if he can free himself from fund-raising, disregard the polling, spedn his popularity and mold opinion rather than follow it."

While his praise of the "historic mission of the Democratic Party" is dubious, he comes close to a clear class analysis of the way bourgeois democracy is run.

Opinion polls show him not taken seriously, but are there any finance reform activists gathered around him, and influencing the agenda of candidates who might be successful?

The below suggests the issue is still alive.

Chris Burford

London

Senate to take up softened campaign finance reform

By Jonathan Karl/CNN

October 12, 1999

Web posted at: 6:01 p.m. EDT (2201 GMT)

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Russ Feingold of

Wisconsin and Republican John McCain of Arizona

want to change the entire campaign finance system,

but this week the two senators will fight for a more

modest goal -- a ban on so-called "soft money."

"Let's move forward to try to address the most

egregious and outrageous corrupting aspect of

campaigns in America today and that is the incredible

inundation of soft money and its pernicious effects,"

McCain said Tuesday.

Soft money is the cash

given directly to the

national parties and not

subject to the federal

limits places on

individual campaigns.

The House already has

passed a comprehensive campaign finance bill, but

last year a Senate version of that bill fell eight votes

short of the 60 votes needed to break Kentucky

Republican Mitch McConnell's filibuster.

"We couldn't break the filibuster without making

some changes, we have to break the filibuster so we

can at least have the House and the Senate both have

a bill," Feingold explained.

But by limiting the scope of their bill, McCain and

Feingold risk losing Democratic support.

"Scaling back the campaign finance reform bill may

get more Republicans aboard, but it leaves many of

us who have been involved in the reform movement

for years in believing that we are doing something

and accomplishing nothing," Sen. Robert Torricelli

(D-New Jersey) warned.

Democrats may have reason to be leery about a

soft-money ban.

"In the '98 cycle the Democrats raised 50 percent of

all their money through soft money. We only raised

40 percent of our money through soft money," Rep.

Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) said.

During the first half of 1999, Democrats have raised

more than $26 million in soft money -- nearly double

the amount raised during the same period two years

ago.

The top Democratic soft money donors include the

Communications Workers of America, which gave

$525,000; The American Federation of State,

County and Municipal Employees, $435,000; and

AT&T, $305,200.

The Republican's top soft money donors are AT&T,

$525,800; Philip Morris, $375,461; and the

National Rifle Association, $244,000.

Democrats are now raising almost as much soft

money as Republicans, but Republicans have a

nearly two to one advantage in the so-called "hard

money" given directly to candidates for campaigns.

"It would be very bad for both political parties and

would largely turn the political discussion over to

others," McConnell told CNN Tuesday, restating his

opposition to the bill.

This week, the Senate is expected to debate a series

of amendments some to further tighten campaign

finance regulations, others to actually loosen the

rules. But Republican opponents have made it clear

they will filibuster against any bill that bans soft

money.



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