Posted on 11/19/2002 5:46:01 PM PST by jwalburg
WASHINGTON- President Bush on Tuesday nominated Democratic attorney Ellen Weintraub to serve on the Federal Election Commission, a move sought by sponsors of the nation's new campaign finance law.
Weintraub is an attorney with the Perkins Coie law firm in Washington, where her clients have included the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and its House counterpart.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other proponents of the new law want Weintraub to replace Democratic Commissioner Karl Sandstrom, whose term expired more than a year ago.
Sandstrom has joined three Republican commissioners on several controversial 4-2 votes in recent months spelling out how the FEC will enforce new campaign finance restrictions.
The sponsors say those decisions opened loopholes; Sandstrom and the three Republicans contend they are simply exercising the latitude Congress gave them to interpret the law and trying to prevent the new rules from going further than Congress intended.
The law, which took effect Nov. 6, prohibits national party committees from raising "soft money" - unlimited contributions from businesses, unions and others - and imposes new restrictions on interest group political ads close to elections, among other changes.
The nomination paves the way for Bush to appoint Weintraub to the commission after Congress goes home for the year. McCain has said Bush promised to place Weintraub on the commission through a recess appointment, which allows the president to put his nominees in their jobs without Senate confirmation proceedings.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., recommended Weintraub for the FEC spot last May.
When weeks passed with no White House action, McCain threatened to block various Bush nominees. He stopped after the administration assured him in July that Bush would name Weintraub to the FEC this fall.
The commission consists of three Republicans and three Democrats.
Weintraub would be the third woman commissioner since the FEC's creation in 1975, and the only woman on its current panel.
ON THE NET Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov/
This is a bad sign.
And consider this. Noisemakers like you and me have been faulting his tactical judgment for 2 years now and what have they gotten us? A GOP sweep!
Well, when you can elect a mongrel independent to the presidency, then he/she/it can appoint somebody to the FEC.
Bush waited until after the 2002 election to appoint the Democrat that was supposed to judge the 2002 election. His term was supposed to start about a year ago. The democrats have been screaming about this for months. GASP.GASP.
It was just hardball politics. It is trading stock. You won't confirm my judge and I won't appoint your FEC guy. I keep the Dino guy in that votes for me. It is played all the time. Sometimes even within your own party. Senator Proxmier was always holding up Reagan's appointments for ransom.
There is an old saying that one should never watch sausage or laws being made. Sausage is made by cleaning the pig sh*t out of a pig's intestine and filling it with a combination of pork meat and fat. Some say it tastes really good. I will leave it up to others to say why you should not watch laws being made.
NO the law requires half Republicans and half Democrats. A president may not appoint an independent. This appointment mandated a Democrat. Bush could only appoint a Democrat to this seat.
Independents have to elect a house majority and a senate majority and a president to get it done. This is nation whose laws have been written by the two parties for over 142 years. There is just one thing they agree on. Make it impossible for a third party to succeed.
For those who don't like Democrats or Republicans their is only way to change things. They have to get into one of the two parties and take it over. The third party people are just idiots. It is not just a stacked deck against them, they are dealt zero cards.
The FEC and the committees in the congress that have control of members always have an equal number of democrats and Republicans. When Bonier was going after Newt that house committee had an equal number of Republicans and Democrats even though all other committees had a majority of Republicans.
Third party people are just grossly ignorant of this nation and its laws. If an independent did get to be president the republicans and democrats would both gang up on him. And they can't use a personality like a Perot to make it with out wining the house. But they can't win the senate in one election. It would very likely take 6 years.
The only time a third party could succeed is when both of the major parties are in agreement on very very important issues and majority of Americans disagree with both major parties on those issues. Then and only then could a third party gain control.
The progressive party under LaFolette got some support in the 1920's. But as they started to be a factor, the Democrats under FDR adopted their views and the progressives died.
None of the progressive leadership ever had any clout except V.P. Wallace. FDR dumped him as VP for Truman in 44.
Get a life. The political parties have to be represented on the FEC equally - by law.
As for idiots, yes, you qualify.
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