Darrell,
Say what???????
<<<<By JILL ABRAMSON
ASHINGTON -- When a single dinner in this nonpresidential election year can fetch more
than $10 million, a record, it is no mystery why legislation to overhaul the system of
campaign finance is in deep trouble in Congress.
At a Republican fund-raiser scheduled for Tuesday night, Washington's convention center will be
packed with an assortment of donors including lobbyists, corporate chiefs and longtime GOP
contributors. For a table of 10 and the chance to rub elbows with Newt Gingrich, the House
speaker; Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the majority leader; and other Republican luminaries, an array
of Washington trade associations and corporations are happily shelling out contributions from
$10,000 to $100,000 a table.
This feast of money comes as the House debates legislation to overhaul the way political campaigns
are financed, and some of the proposals would substantially slow the money chase in Washington.
Gingrich and his leadership team oppose the two major House proposals, which would effectively
ban the large, unregulated contributions to political parties known as soft money. The Senate has
already killed similar proposals.
Without unregulated contributions, which often come in single $100,000 checks from big donors, it
would be much harder for the two parties to stage multimillion-dollar dinners like Tuesday's because
they would be limited to smaller contributions from individuals and political action committees that
are restricted under the federal election laws.
Prospects for passage of any far-reaching bill to overhaul the campaign finance laws this year are
extremely dim. The issue would already have been declared dead if Gingrich had not reluctantly
allowed House debate after a rebellion was threatened among the rank and file of his own party.
As Tuesday's dinner proves, the campaign finance system, though much-criticized and shot through
with loopholes, works very well for the GOP House leaders, who are counting on their financial
edge over their counterparts in the Democratic Party to preserve their congressional majority in the
November elections.
The dinner's chairman, Armey, hit his $10 million goal a week early in a blitz of check-collecting
described as "awesome" by Mary Crawford, spokeswoman for the National Republican
Congressional Committee, which will receive half of the dinner's proceeds (the other half goes to
Senate Republicans).
To be sure, there have been bigger one-night hauls: President Clinton raised $12 million at a
Democratic event in the fall of 1996 and the Republicans raised $15 million at a gala they held in
1996.
For the past two months, Armey has spent at least one full day a week dialing for dollars from the
headquarters of the National Republican Congressional Committee, just steps from the Capitol.
"He's worked his tail off," Ms. Crawford said. Raising all this money not only helps the Republican
Party but also fortifies Armey's political network. To remain politically competitive in Washington
these days, the congressional leaders must each build fully diversified fund-raising machines.
Armey also signed thousands of fund-raising letters. While appealing for "a generous contribution of
$2,000, $1,000 or $500," Armey's letters promised that Republicans would simplify the tax code,
keep the military strong and "provide high moral and ethical standards as leaders."
Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, is also "pounding the phones," said an aide, Michael
Scanlon. Gingrich and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is chairman of the House Republican
Conference, have also been making a flurry of fund-raising calls, as have several GOP committee
chairmen.
In last year's congressional inquiry into fund-raising abuses in the 1996 election, both Clinton and
Vice President Al Gore were sharply criticized for telephoning donors. Although it is common
practice for House and Senate Democrats and Republicans to place calls to donors, some election
law watchdogs said it was unseemly for Armey and others who controlled the House's legislative
agenda to put the arm on contributors.
"It is inappropriate and dangerous," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a
nonpartisan group in Washington that advocates political reform. "This has the exact same kind of
dangers for influence-buying that people raised about President Clinton and Vice President Gore's
calls."
Ms. Crawford responded that "it's silly to say members shouldn't make calls." Michelle Davis,
Armey's spokeswoman, said that once he agreed to be the chairman of the dinner he had to hit the
phones. Armey declined to provide the names of corporations and other donors he had called.
Members of Congress are prohibited from soliciting donations in the Capitol, but the rule is little
more than a minor inconvenience. The four House leaders, for example, have separate offices near
the Capitol that house their extensive political and fund-raising operations.
Gingrich is the model. Before the Republicans succeeded in wresting control of the House in 1994,
he had built a formidable fund-raising operation, using his re-election fund and GOPAC, a political
action committee, to raise millions of dollars for himself and other Republican House and state-level
candidates. Although Gingrich is no longer affiliated with GOPAC, he is chairman of a new PAC,
called Monday Morning, which has raised $341,000 for the 1998 elections.
"He's still the chief fund-raiser in the party," a Gingrich aide, Michael Shields, said.
Gingrich, Armey, DeLay and Boehner all oppose the more sweeping campaign overhaul bills, each
for slightly different reasons. Gingrich and DeLay worry that the bills trample on political free speech.
Armey and Boehner oppose cutting back on corporate contributions without limiting the financial
power of labor unions.
But these concerns are overshadowed by a simple truth: under the current election laws, the
Republicans enjoy a big financial edge over the Democrats. For the 1998 congressional elections,
Republican Party committees have raised $204 million to the Democrats' $125 million.
And the House leaders each make out well under the current campaign finance system because they
can raise large amounts of federal contributions for their re-election campaigns and leadership PAC's
and unregulated money for the party committees.
So far in 1998, Gingrich has raised $3.8 million for his re-election, Armey $1.6 million, DeLay
$747,000 and Boehner $650,000. Each has a relatively safe seat.
Like Gingrich, the three other GOP House leaders have their own leadership PAC's. Boehner's
Freedom Project has raised $545,429, Armey's Majority Leader's Fund has collected $519,682,
and DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority has taken in $370,000, according to Federal
Election Commission records.
After a year of tense infighting on Gingrich's team, these PAC's give each leader a fund to dispense
campaign money to political friends and shore up their allies for future House leadership contests.
Should Gingrich relinquish the post to run for president, Armey, DeLay and Boehner are all
interested in moving up the leadership chain.
And Rep. Robert Livingston of Louisiana, the appropriations chairman who is also angling to be
speaker one day, recently launched his own leadership PAC. Other Democrats and Republicans in
the House and Senate also have leadership PAC's and an early compromise left them untouched in
the current campaign finance overhaul bills being debated.
The House leaders also are chief fund raisers for the National Republican Congressional Committee,
which has collected $42 million for the 1998 elections, compared with $18.5 million for the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Contributors, meanwhile, feel obliged to give generous amounts to all of these fund-raising
committees. With vital issues before the House, many cannot afford to say no when asked to give.
"We're a logical target," said Bill McCloskey, director of media relations for BellSouth, which forked
over $70,000 for Tuesday's dinner and has made generous donations to the leadership PAC's and
campaign committees of all the GOP House leaders. "We're active on all kinds of issues,"
McCloskey said. "That gets us buttonholed. If one didn't put the arm on us, someone else would
have." BellSouth has also given big contributions to the Democrats.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a $100,000 dinner contributor and has also
contributed to all the election funds affiliated with the GOP House leaders. Blue Cross is fighting
legislation to overhaul managed care, a bill the House leadership opposed. A spokesman for Blue
Cross said the company's donations were not connected to its lobbying against the patient's rights
bill. Blue Cross also contributes to Democrats. >>>> |
