Posted on 06/15/2002 1:06:09 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON -- A private, nonpartisan group Friday accused the Democratic Party of undercutting the campaign finance law that the party had publicly championed.
Common Cause, a citizen-action organization that had worked closely with Democrats to pass the legislation last March, protested that Democratic lawyers are now seeking to weaken its ban on unlimited "soft money" contributions to the national parties.
Common Cause President Scott Harshbarger, standing outside of the Democratic National Committee headquarters, singled out party Chairman Terry McAuliffe for undermining the new law.
McAuliffe, the prolific fund-raiser for former President Bill Clinton, earlier this year hailed the soft money ban as a boon for "grass-roots" democracy.
Harshbarger said now that the law has passed, the DNC attorneys are asking the Federal Election Commission to "open huge loopholes to keep bringing the soft money in."
The FEC is scheduled to vote next Wednesday on regulations for the soft money ban, which is set to go into effect in November.
Common Cause also complained that a DNC lawyer is serving as attorney of record for the California State Democratic Party, which has joined in a lawsuit asking the federal courts to declare the entire campaign law unconstitutional.
"We expected efforts ... to game the system," Harshbarger said. "What we didn't quite expect, I think, was the wholesale assault that has occurred right away."
He said that his group was unhappy with Republicans, as well, because they are challenging the constitutionality of elements of the soft money ban that President Bush has endorsed.
However, Harshbarger noted that the Republican National Committee never embraced campaign finance reform, as Democrats and McAuliffe have done.
In a letter, the Common Cause president urged McAuliffe not to "permit the taint of hypocrisy to tarnish" the Democrats' efforts to pass the legislation.
DNC spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said that McAuliffe would not be available to respond directly to Common Cause.
In a written statement, Palmieri said that the DNC "fully supports a ban on the use of soft money by national political parties" and is committed to the "fundamental purposes of this legislation."
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