Coordination is all the rage these days, now it may not be open season.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A judge has struck down more than a dozen of the government's current rules on political fund raising with just weeks before Election Day, concluding federal regulators improperly weakened the nation's campaign finance law.Law makers weren't happy with the FEC's interpretation of McCain/Feingold, which presumably will be enforced now.U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the Federal Election Commission to write new rules to govern key aspects of fund raising, including when candidates and outside parties can coordinate activities.
The judge did not specifically address how candidates and political parties in the heat of current campaign should act in the absence of the rules. The law's main provisions, banning most large donations, are unaffected. But issues involving coordination must be addressed by regulators, for example.
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Comments (4)
Oh yeah, just what we need,... (Below threshold)1. Posted by KBiel | September 20, 2004 12:52 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Oh yeah, just what we need, a judge telling us that the first amendment has not properly shredded by the FEC.
1. Posted by KBiel | September 20, 2004 12:52 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 20, 2004 12:52
2. Posted by DaveP. | September 20, 2004 1:34 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The problem was not that it wasn't being adequately shredded, the problem was that the FEC had de facto decided that the shredding in question could not be applied to Democrats and their supporting "independant" 527's. The judge in question seems to have decided (based on his statements to date) that if the law says, "No coordination", it MEANS no coordination; not just "you have to use a figleaf". The McCain/Feingold First Amendment Cancellation Act is a horrible piece of law and ALL the parties involved- from President Bush to the Supremes on down- should have been forced out of office over it; but you can't make it better by selective enforcement of its provisions.
Of course I could be very wrong;
2. Posted by DaveP. | September 20, 2004 1:34 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 20, 2004 13:34
3. Posted by Joe R. | September 20, 2004 2:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Disgusting. I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever vote for John McCain. Ever.
3. Posted by Joe R. | September 20, 2004 2:07 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 20, 2004 14:07
4. Posted by KBiel | September 20, 2004 3:28 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
" but you can't make it better by selective enforcement of its provisions."
But that is the problem. If this judge truly had concern for the first amendment, she would have ruled on the constitutional merits of the law in question, not whether the FEC was gagging all the right people.
Besides, the 527 loophole was not designed for Dems alone, all sides were using, as they should have to get around this asinine law.
4. Posted by KBiel | September 20, 2004 3:28 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 20, 2004 15:28