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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (44533)	5/15/2004 5:33:55 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793897

Republicans Send Signal to Allies in Campaign Money Race By CARL HULSE - NYT Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Representative Chris Shays are two Republicans who have rarely seen eye to eye over changing campaign contribution rules. Representative Shays, of Connecticut, was the chief House promoter of the law to curb unlimited "soft" corporate and personal donations, while Speaker Hastert, of Illinois, was a powerful opponent. But that is all in the past now that the Federal Election Commission has decided not to bar certain outside advocacy groups from raising millions of dollars and mounting independent advertising campaigns in this year's elections. Mr. Hastert and Mr. Shays, joined by Representative Tom Reynolds, the New Yorker in charge of the House Republican campaign organization, put out a statement today lamenting the F.E.C.'s decision not to interfere with the political groups, known as 527's for a section in the tax code, that have so far been working mainly on behalf of Democrats. "During the seven-year battle to pass the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (B.C.R.A.), most Democrats favored the law and most Republicans did not," the statement said. "But now it's the Democrats who are operating with no regard for the law, while Republicans have complied with the spirit and intent of the law." Perhaps even more interesting was the subtext of the message. Twice in their statement, the Republicans took pains to point out that "it would not be surprising if new 527 groups emerged to counteract the one-sided onslaught" and that such advocacy groups "will continue apparently without legal repercussion." One top House Republican aide said the not-so-subtle message was that Republican allies should plunge ahead and create their own independent groups and begin initiating advertising campaigns of their own. "They need to get cracking," the aide said, confirming the fears of campaign watchdog groups who worry that F.E.C. action will initiate a new competitive spending race. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company