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Free Liberal: Coordinating towards higher values

Free Liberal

Coordinating towards higher values

A different take on Feingold, Campaign Reforms

Ali Masoud's response to Bernie Quigley's, "Russ Feingold - a fresh sea breeze and perhaps a sea change" is not only inaccurate and misleading on one of its main points, but demonstrates a clear lack of knowledge of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, commonly know as the "McCain/Feingold Act."

First, to argue that the internment of American citizens based solely on their ancestry and the prohibition of individual Members of Congress from soliciting $500,000 checks from corporations and other interest groups is a position that, for the obvious reason that it's absurd, Mr. Masoud does not even attempt to support. Just typing such a declarative does not make it evidently so.

Second, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act did not, as Mr. Masoud suggests, create the tax-exempt organizations known as "527s." Section 527 was added to the Internal Revenue Code in the mid-seventies with the rationale that, "[C]ampaigns, party committees, and PACs should not pay taxes on funds contributed to such political entities and used for political purposes." 1

The BCRA was intended to do the following--stop "[M]embers of Congress from soliciting enormous campaign contributions from monied interests; and reducing the corrupting influence of big money donations."2 It was not meant to be the silver bullet in campaign finance reform, but rather a step in the right direction. Moreover, as it relates to online communication, and blogs in particular, the BCRA was, as Senator Feingold admits, "handled irresponsibly by the FEC." 3

In the words of Justices O'Connor and Stevens, "Money, like water, will always find an outlet." The BCRA is, as was its intent, a plug.

1. Brookings Institutution - http://www.brook.edu/gs/cf/headlines/527_intro.htm.
2. Senator Russ Feingold, Mydd.com - http://senator-russ-feingold.mydd.com/.
3. Ibid.

Fraternally,
Jerry Troiano
New Brunswick, NJ



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