Posted on 12/17/2005 7:25:29 PM PST by ncountylee
House Republicans made a last-minute attempt Saturday to limit individual political donations to independent organizations. It was a move aimed at hampering Democratic-aligned groups that were powerful in 2004 and could threaten GOP candidates next year.
As Congress rushed to finish for the year, Republican leaders met privately and sought to attach the campaign finance legislation — which has idled in the House for months — to a defense bill that was ready for final passage.
They stalled when Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., refused to sign off on the defense bill as long as it contained the campaign finance measure. Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, the top Democrat on Warner's committee, also objected, as did his counterpart in the House, Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record), D-Mo.
House leaders weren't budging, throwing into question the fate of the defense bill, which includes a ban on the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects in U.S. custody and other restrictions on detainee interrogation and prosecution.
"Right now it would be speculation to say what would happen," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Saturday when asked about the defense bill and the effort to attach the campaign money measure.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The House races will see money from me way before that group of clowns in the Senate.
Here's the 'campaign finance reform' Republicans would be pushing if they really cared about the Bill of Rights:
1) Unlimited donations allowed from individuals; with immediate and complete online reporting to the public.
2) An end to the income tax and the IRS, with immediate implementation of the FairTax.
Can someone encapsulate all this DC BS for a man who... is tired of the Beltway Bull-Sh'!te?
I have an idea. How about repealing the idiotic McCain-Feingold Act and respecting the First Amendment for a change?
This is stupid. The only 527 which was effective last year were the Swift Boat Vets. KEEP 527's ALIVE!
Yes, there really is a difference between Republicans and Democrats. Hold on, I'll find it somewhere...
They've stuck so many things in that defense bill because "surely it will pass" that they have put it in danger of losing.
Yep. (Taps head) Smart move on the (real) Republicans' part.
The Swift Boat Vets got mostly small donations, so this rule wouldn't have mattered.
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