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 o,
campaign-finance reform passed the House, putting it on a clear
path to becoming law.
This is odd,
since I thought that rich special interests had a hammer-lock on
Washington and could bribe their way into getting whatever legislative
outcome they wanted.
Actually, the
problem with Washington, as last night demonstrates, isn't money,
but a whole host of deeper maladies, all of which are represented,
not banned, by Shays-Meehan.
There is the
self-aggrandizement — a bunch of politicians just voted to
make life harder for political parties and independent groups (their
fundraising and practices will be restricted), and easier for themselves
(restrictions on their fundraising will be eased).
There is the
self-protection — a bunch of politicians just voted to make
it harder for citizens to criticize them (no "issue" ads
60 days before an election).
There is the
disconnect with the concerns of ordinary people — no one cares
about campaign-finance rules, even after being bombarded with Enron
stories for weeks.
There is the
self-congratulatory hyperbole — check out John McCain pretending
that this bill will suddenly make politics worth practicing again,
thanks to his own courage and wisdom, of course.
There is the
inconsistency — McCain can accept tens of thousands of dollars
from Global Crossing and still be a paragon of political virtue,
while if a political party does the same it is corrupt.
There is the
pandering to selected elites — this bill was clearly driven
more by the New York Times than constituents.
There is the
reckless cynicism — the sponsors of this bill know that its
restrictions on advertising are unconstitutional, but just figure
they will let the courts clean that up later.
There is the
governing by press release — Washington wanted to "do
something" in the wake of the Enron scandal, even though this
bill would have done nothing to prevent the Enron scandal.
All of this
is what people hate about politics. But, oddly enough, rather than
a "cloud" currently hanging over Washington — as
Shays-Meehan supporters have it — its prestige lately has been
surging.
That's because
of the war on terrorism, which represents an entirely different
political dynamic than campaign-finance reform.
The war has
featured politicians addressing a real problem, with a real impact
on people's lives, in a way that is bold and effective. It has been
mostly free of spin and posturing, and has starkly demonstrated
why public life really matters.
And all of
this happened without campaign-finance reform.
It is too bad
the Bush administration seems likely to eschew the politics of courage
and honesty, as represented by the war, for the politics of elite
pandering and pose, as represented by Shays-Meehan.
The forces
that will prompt Bush to sign the bill are all unworthy of a president
whose leadership has otherwise been so inspiring.
He will be
driven by: 1) inertia — it will be just so much easier
to go along with the self-righteous poseurs of campaign-finance
reform; 2) cynicism — Bush can raise bundles of hard money
himself, so what does he care about the health of political parties,
or the First Amendment rights of everyday, politically engaged citizens?
At the moment,
the administration is fighting an uphill political battle to not
tell the GAO about its energy-task-force meetings. This is an admirable
— if, in my mind, mistaken — assertion of political principle.
It would make
so much more sense to spend that political capital to preserve the
dynamism of the current political system and the First Amendment
rights of active citizens by vetoing Shays-Meehan. This would be
a "citizenship initiative" truly worthy of the name.
Campaign-finance
reformers argue that by signing Shays-Meehan Bush will make himself
into a new Theodore Roosevelt. Maybe for the PBS set, for whom courage
means doing whatever every journalist in Washington says needs to
be done.
But ditching
Shays-Meehan would better tap into the most admirable spirit of
TR — a bold, energetic move that would leave all the conventional
and timid-minded campaign-finance weenies sputtering in disbelief.
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