Senate Dems Block Democracy
February 25, 2008 | Filed Under The Chaser
Written by The Shot
When Obama says “CHANGE” is talking about using his Senate powers to “CHANGE” the outcome of an election?
On Friday, I wrote this piece on Redstate about how the Senate Democrats refusal to approve President Bush’s FEC will adversely affect McCain’s chances of winning the nomination. Here are some excerpts:
Federal Election Commission Chairman David M. Mason issued a letter to the McCain campaign yesterday notifying them that the commission had not granted his February 6th request to withdraw from the system. The Washington Post cites these two reasons in their article:
Mason’s letter raises two issues as the basis for his position. One is that the six-member commission lacks a quorum, with four vacancies because of a Senate deadlock over President Bush’s nominees for the seats. Mason said the FEC would need to vote on McCain’s request to leave the system, which is not possible without a quorum. Until that can happen, the candidate will have to remain within the system, he said.
The second issue is more complicated. It involves a $1 million loan McCain obtained from a Bethesda bank in January. The bank was worried about his ability to repay the loan if he exited the federal financing program and started to lose in the primary race. McCain promised the bank that, if that happened, he would reapply for matching money and offer those as collateral for the loan. While McCain’s aides have argued that the campaign was careful to make sure that they technically complied with the rules, Mason indicated that the question needs further FEC review.
The public financing system prevents McCain from spending more than $54 million before he formally accepts the GOP Nomination in September. The problem is he has already spent over $49 million. With only $5 million left to spend, this will drastically affect his ability to travel, hold fundraisers, employee staff, organize swing states, and start using paid advertising (direct mail, television, radio, the web) for the General Election.
The person leading the Democrats opposition to Bush’s FEC appointments is Barack Obama, who will likely be the Democratic Presidential Nominee. Sen. Obama started fighting these appointments last year, but these new developments raise the question of whether Obama is ready to play fair.
McCain should be able to opt out of the public financing system because he didn’t take any money from the system. All he needs is for a quorum to be present at the next commission meeting.
Unfortunately, the Democrats now realize they have a major card in their hands. If they can prevent McCain from opting out of the public financing system, they can dramatically outspend him between now and September. The DNC has even gone as far as calling out McCain for breaking the law (this is not true at the present time), and put together a petition effort to rally public support.
Elections aren’t meant to be decided in the Senate. It is a process solely meant to be decided by the people. I hope the Democrats in the Senate will stop blocking democracy and appoint the necessary number of FEC commissioners to allow our country to have free and fair elections. This isn’t Russia. This is America. Just because you have the power to influence elections in your favor doesn’t mean you have to abuse it.
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The Redstate blog also had a link to this guide yesterday: “Everything You Need to Know About John McCain and Matching Funds” (link below) that explained the situation. Their take is that both candidates sort of stumbled into this sticky situation, but that McCain will exceed the spending limit whether the commission lets him or not and that Obama (if nominated) will face a very difficult choice with the FEC appointment. After all, Obama blocked this appointment because of supposed vote suppression, way before anyone knew McCain would have to deal with the FEC.
http://www.campaignfreedom.org/blog/id.514/blog_detail.asp