McCain Financing Structure With RNC Skirts Intention Of Public Finance

The media has been abuzz over speculation that John McCain will accept public financing in the general election. The attention has overshadowed a new fund structure that will allow the McCain camp to collect significantly more money than the individual limits placed by the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the details of McCain's fund:

Campaign manager Rick Davis released the details of the "McCain Victory 08" fund on Friday. He said the entity is a joint committee, combining the McCain campaign, the Republican National Committee and four key states under a "hybrid legal structure."

The idea is to tap donors for more than the $2,300 limit set by campaign finance laws. Under legislation pushed by McCain in his role as a senator from Arizona, an individual can donate a maximum of $2,300 to a presidential primary campaign and the same amount to the general election campaign. Although McCain received the number of delegates necessary to secure the nomination in March, he will not be the party's official nominee until the convention in September--so he is still running a primary campaign.

The new structure allows up to $70,000 in individual contributions by channeling the money into different McCain-centric funds. The first $2,300 of that would go to McCain's primary campaign. The Republican National Committee would receive $28,500 of the donation. The remaining funds would be divided equally, up to $10,000 a piece, among four states the campaign has designated as battlegrounds for November: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico.

The non-partisan organization Public Campaign Action Fund has published an open letter to McCain asking that he drop the system:

This joint fundraising committee, called McCain Victory '08 Fund, will allow your campaign to accept contributions as large as $70,000, according to the New York Times - an amount that is far in excess of contribution limits for candidates and political parties put in place by your own campaign finance law, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as McCain-Feingold. Your willingness to evade the spirit of McCain-Feingold sets a poor precedent for whomever the Democratic Party nominates as your general election opponent. It also sends a signal that your campaign is less serious about the importance of participating in the public financing system in the general. Indeed, even if you were to participate, you and your campaign are exploiting a loophole and will be still be courting wealthy donors who could donate tens of thousands to the McCain Victory '08 Fund.

You and your campaign will describe this activity as legally sound. But that does not make it right.

Read report on McCain leaving public financing.

Comments

[pertello]

EACH SENATOR BY Rank, THEN Name, FOLLOWED BY Minimum Net Worth, THEN Maximum Net Worth
1
Herb Kohl (D-Wis)
$219,098,029
$234,549,004

2
John Kerry (D-Mass)
$165,741,511
$235,262,100

3
Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa)
$78,150,023
$101,579,003

4
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)
$43,341,462
$98,630,021

5
Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI)
$41,153,105
$64,096,019

6
Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
$38,198,170
$90,733,019

7
John McCain (R-Ariz)
$20,571,136
$32,043,011

8
Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass)
$19,189,049
$93,043,004

9
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
$13,508,152
$49,829,007

10
Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore)
$12,994,660
$62,261,641

11
Bill Frist (R-Tenn)
$11,667,041
$41,735,006

12
Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn)
$11,542,483
$43,639,427

13
Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
$11,488,475
$47,410,001

14
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)

[pertello]

Notice that Barack Obama, the "ELITIST" didn't make the list...

[pertello]

JOHN MCCAIN: ELITIST

The Fabulous Life of John McCain: 8th richest Senator, has 9 houses worth over $13 million. Says economic problems are "psychological," Americans should deal with recession by "working a second job."
WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7PfSEtiXPw&

[Gary47]

Can someone explain why a Democratic supporter can't do a very similar thing - give 2300 to the candidate, give 28K to the Democratic National Committee, and 4 x 10K to battleground state committees? So McCain wrapped his approach up in a nice big bow, what's to stop us from doing the equivalent? In fact, why don't we go one better and pick 7 battleground states instead of 4 - that way our guys can give 100,000? Where's the rub?

[mamacat]

It is pretty scary to think that we may have to go from The Worst President in the History of the U.S., straight to Sen. McCain. He is just plain unqualified, even if he wouldn't qualify for "Worst".

[MadJeffersonian]

The McCain campaign slogan, "Do as I say. Not as I do!"

[piffle]

Corrupt. So much for his 'straight talk.' I know several Republicans who plan to vote for Obama over McCain - but note this, superdelegates: they will NOT vote for Clinton.

[booshman]

He wants to establish his Republican authenticity. It's been too long since Keating 5. His fellow Republicans need to be reassured of his character deficiencies. Now, he has passed the test in flying colors.

[ImpressedByHonesty]

Just think of the signing statements this one will do if he was President which will never happen.

[redraymonds]

mccain is a hypocritical lying scumbag

[Toerag]

Hrmm. IF (big IF) he gets elected, who will he owe the big favors to? I suppose THAT's why he's against repealing the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy.

[Tobiasism]

KEATING 5?

[writerswrite]

Wow -- talk about understatement. If this is "skirting" the intention of the law, I hardly dare think what you would consider SHREDDING that law. This bulls*** should completely eradicate any press meme about McCain being a straight-shooting maverick.

[DebLee]

Can we all say McBush?

From tearing apart the constitution, to torture memos from White House counsel, John Yoo, we must see the pattern here. If the evidence is not present to support the cause, lie and say it is there. If the law does not allow actions that are deemed necessary to protect interests, hire someone to re-interpret the law, even if it means violating the moral fiber that weaves the American flag. If personal gain and benefit cannot be acquired through an agreed upon set of rules, regulations or laws, it must be re-written to suite their needs.

This is precisely the reason why we must elect a president who will institute change. We cannot continue to allow this type of twisting, spinning and turning of our laws and constitution for personal gain. This has to change.

Change. It's more than a word.

[pertello]

John McCain was shot down October 26, 1967, and by November 9, 1967 he was giving interviews to foreign correspondents, providing information on his prior command, casualties and tactics, in direct violation of the Code of Conduct. (The U.S. military Code of Conduct is the definitive code specifying the responsibilities of American military personnel while in combat or captivity. Article V of the Code is very specific in ordering U.S. military personnel to avoid answering questions to the utmost of their ability and to make no oral or written statements disloyal to the United States and its allies, or harmful to their cause. Any willful violation of the Code is considered collaborating with the enemy.)
when he was first interviewed by the North Vietnamese he is shown at a hospital reserved for Vietnamese military and he was seen by Soviet Surgeons. He was drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes while being interviewed.
The Communist Vietnamese erected a bust of John McCain.

[pertello]

Hey Squinty! Look what I found on you!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1085208/John-McCain-Efforts-To-Block-POW-Investigations