Campaign-finance law takes effect

By The Associated Press

11.06.02

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WASHINGTON — As the elections were settled, a law took effect today barring unrestricted donations to the national political parties, intended to end the era of free-spending, big-money politics.

Politicians and interest groups are already looking for loopholes to keep the cash flowing.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, chief Republican sponsor of the campaign-finance reform law, complained last night that the Federal Election Commission was emasculating the law it was supposed to enforce.

"We're going to take them to court," he said on CNN. "We will fight them again in the Congress if necessary."

The law bans what is called "soft money," unlimited donations from corporations, labor unions and other interests that have become the biggest source of national campaign funds. First Amendment advocates who oppose campaign-finance reform say such measures unconstitutionally restrict political speech.

The national political parties have until Jan. 1 to get rid of any soft money left in their accounts after election day. They can use it to cover debts from the last campaign, or to pay the cost of recounts and runoff elections. Effective today, the parties can raise only limited, "hard money" donations, not to exceed $2,000 from an individual contributor.

The parties want FEC permission to raise additional soft money to cover 2002 recounts. Reformers call that an unacceptable loophole. The commission will consider the question on Nov. 14.

Congressional Democrats provided most of the votes for passage of the reform law, but their national party could be at a disadvantage without soft-money contributions. For the 2002 campaign, the Republicans raised $162 million more than the Democrats in the hard money donations that remain legal.

State political organizations and interest groups can still use soft money.

According to McCain, soft money has poisoned politics. It didn't exist when he first ran for Congress, he said, and "there was no such thing as the obscene amounts of money we are seeing in this campaign, nor was there such a thing as these terrible, terrible, negative ads that continue to inundate people."