Centerfield

Democrat Hacks And Soft Money

The FEC is looking into new curbs on soft money, specifically the "527 committees" such as the one used by Yankees Entertainment and Sports to funnel money into anti-Dean ads.

The general counsel's office of the Federal Election Commission has proposed new rules that would threaten plans by Democratic strategists to build a "shadow party" to mobilize voters and run ads this year, according to lawyers and political operatives.

The proposed regulations -- subject to revision by the FEC over a three-month rulemaking process -- deal with "527" groups, named for the section of the tax code that governs their activities. These groups are allowed to raise and spend "soft money" on campaign activities once handled by the political parties. Democrats have been more active in raising money for the 527 groups, while Republicans have been more successful at raising "hard money" for individual candidates.

The group most reliant on 527 money this year is the Democratic Party establishment. While I am leaning Democrat this year, I am appalled by the simply laziness of Democratic Party hacks in relying on special interest money when the Dean and Clark campaigns have demonstrated how large amounts of money can be raised from small donors over the Internet.

Posted by rickheller at March 2, 2004 10:51 AM