"Only John Kerry could be for a nominating convention,
but be against the nomination,"
Kerry, The Reluctant Bride
By Captain Ed on Presidential Election
The presumptive Democratic nominee for President, John Kerry, wishes to remain "presumptive" as long as possible, it seems. Party activists now propose to have Kerry wait as long as possible to accept the nomination in order to avoid campaign-spending limits that kick in once the nomination is made:
Sen. John Kerry may postpone accepting his party's presidential nomination at the July Democratic convention -- a tactic aimed at reserving his campaign war chest for the fight against President Bush.
Under federal campaign rules, once a candidate accepts the party nomination, the campaign is limited to spending around $75 million.
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So, just as with the proliferation of 527s and MoveOn, we have the party of campaign-finance reform manipulating the rules on which they insisted for their own gain. If nothing else illustrates the futility and hypocrisy of classifying money into silly little categories, the spectacle of a major-party nominee addressing a nominating convention at its climax while pretending that he's not really the nominee should drive it home like never before. What will he say to the gathered delegates? "I pledge to win this election, assuming I accept your nomination at a later undetermined date!"
Needless to say, Republicans managed to suppress their laughter long enough to note the silliness to which the Democrats have no shame to stoop:<font size=3>
The Bush-Cheney campaign took delight in the issue.
"Only John Kerry could be for a nominating convention, but be against the nomination," Ken Mehlman, the Bush-Cheney campaign manager, said in a written statement. "This is just the latest example of John Kerry's belief that the rules are for other people, not for him."
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Democrats countercharged that Republicans played the system by scheduling their nominating convention so late in the season (first week of September). However, no one has ever proposed rules for the scheduling of conventions, and at the time, Democrats were delighted by the schedule as it caused ballot problems for Republicans in Illinois.
What Kerry proposes is to walk out of his own nominating
convention and lie about his status in order to spend
money illegally. Is this the campaign finance reform about
which Democrats have lectured us for last two sessions of
Congress? |
