40: Campaign Finance
Fix the inability of the political parties to be true national parties. Other Information:
Recent election cycles have seen a troubling diminishment of the role of political parties and even candidates themselves
in our democracy. The national and state political parties are well on their way to the intensive care unit. McCain-Feingold
now makes it impossible for the national parties to use funds raised under a state's own laws to support state and local candidates
and parties in that state, and it forces them to use federal money for what are truly state and local activities. Even state
parties are prohibited from spending money that is legal under state law on important grassroots activities to help state
and local candidates. Although the Supreme Court thankfully has restored the First Amendment rights of many organizations,
the free speech rights of political parties and federal candidates remain smothered by McCain-Feingold. Even though national
and state parties are the most transparent, accountable and grassroots-oriented groups in our political system, they are the
most heavily restricted by federal campaign finance law. However, outside groups — such as SuperPACs, 501(c)(4)s and 527s
— use unlimited, and often unreported, amounts of the same money federal candidates and national parties are now prohibited
from spending or raising. The result is an illogical system where candidates and their parties no longer have the loudest
voices in campaigns or even the ability to determine the issues debated in campaigns. Outside groups now play an expanded
role affecting federal races and, in some ways, overshadow state parties in primary and general elections. As a result, this
environment has caused a splintered Congress with little party cohesion so that gridlock and polarization grow as the political
parties lose their ability to rally their elected officeholders around a set of coherent governing policies. Fixing the inability
of the political parties to be true national parties must be a top priority. Unless Congress acts, the country will continue
to suffer under the current misguided statutory scheme that over regulates campaign finance, limits free speech and empowers
the very so-called special interests this law was meant to diminish. Congress must take a bipartisan approach to saving our
two national parties, as well as remove restrictions on voter registration and GOTV efforts of state and local party committees
or else suffer the consequences of the current state of play. This should be an issue where Republicans and Democrats can
come together to forge a reasonable solution. The first two sections below thus are not about how Republicans can win more
elections, but rather they are about how Republicans and Democrats can revive the important historical role of parties and
candidates in our democracy. In the third section, we discuss a few ways that Republican state parties can be strengthened
even under the hyper-regulated legal regime that governs them.
Objective(s):
|
