Kerry says he might exceed spending limit
Would follow suit if Dean rejects public financing
boston.com
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff, 9/11/2003
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday that he would break a federal spending cap, reject public financing for the presidential primaries, and possibly use his personal funds if Howard Dean's fund-raising strength leads the former Vermont governor to go beyond the federal spending limit.
Dean sent a letter to the government in June saying he would abide by the limit, but is now considering exceeding the cap.
"If Howard Dean decides to go live outside of it, I'm not going to wait an instant," Kerry said in an interview at his campaign headquarters. "Decision's made. I'll go outside. Absolutely. I'm not going to disarm."
As recently as Aug. 31, the Massachusetts Democrat expressed indecision on the matter, saying only that he would "reserve the right" to exceed the cap if Dean did so.
No major Democratic candidate has rejected public financing and the spending cap since the voluntary program became law after the Watergate scandal.
If Kerry and Dean exceed the cap, it would also enable them to break the spending limit of $729,000 in New Hampshire, setting off a financial arms race that could dramatically alter the way the campaign is run in the first-primary state, said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which studies money and politics.
"It would probably signal the demise of the public financing system, at least as it is presently constituted," Noble said. "If the calculation is that you can't win if you take public funding and the limits that come along with it, the serious candidates are going to have to figure out a way out of that system."
Kerry bristled when asked about the possibility that Dean may break the cap, pointing out that Dean had pledged in a letter to the Federal Election Commission that he would abide by the spending cap. The issue prompted Kerry to use some of his strongest language yet about Dean, criticizing the former Vermont governor for changing his positions on a variety of issues.
"Somebody who wants to be president ought to keep their word," Kerry said. "I think it goes to the core of whether you are a different politician or a politician of your word or what you are."
Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said in a telephone interview that he didn't want to respond directly to Kerry's criticism of Dean. But Trippi said that "the facts have changed" since Dean said he intended to abide by spending limits, observing that Dean has surprised people by collecting so many small donations from so many Americans.
"I think a couple of million Americans giving $77 is totally within the spirit of our democracy," Trippi said. "I don't think writing a check to yourself or collecting bundled money is." He was alluding to the practice of prominent fund-raisers collecting contributions to one candidate from a number of associates.
Earlier this year, the campaigns of Kerry, Dean, and the seven other Democrats worked under the presumption that they would abide by a cap of $45 million in campaign spending, including federal matching funds. Democratic campaign strategists calculated that it would be difficult to reach the $45 million level without public funding, especially in a nine-person field.
But Dean has upset that equation with his unexpected fund-raising success, partly due to his Internet contributions. That has led him to consider rejecting public funds in an effort to catch up with President Bush.
Bush, who faces no primary opposition, has rejected public financing and is expected to collect $200 million, much of which the president could use to attack his Democratic opponent long after the primaries are over.
In the interview, Kerry was asked repeatedly whether he would use personal funds if Dean exceeds the cap. "Whatever's legal under the law," Kerry responded.
He is married to one of the country's wealthiest women, Teresa Heinz Kerry, but there are restrictions that probably would prevent the senator from tapping her wealth. Kerry probably could tap half of their jointly owned assets, including a Beacon Hill townhouse that may be worth around $7 million. In his 1996 Senate race against William F. Weld, Kerry used jointly owned assets as collateral to pay for loans for campaign advertising.
Earlier this year, it was Dean who criticized Kerry over the possibility of exceeding the spending cap. Speaking last March, before he took the lead in New Hampshire polls, Dean warned that Kerry would pay a political price if he broke the spending limit.
"It will be a huge issue," Dean said at the time, "because I think most Democrats believe in campaign finance reform."
Michael Kranish can be reached at kranish@globe.com.
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