Larry Levine asks whether the same
rules apply restricting fundraising by federal officeholders who are also
candidates for state office. There is an exception, at 2 U.S.C.
Sec. 441i(e)(2) I think, which allows federal officeholders to follow
only state law when raising funds for their own campaigns for state
office. I did not realize in my earlier comments that California
recall elections include opposing candidates on the ballot; that may well
move Rep. Issa's conduct outside the coverage of BCRA, depending on the
details, provided that he is in fact a candidate in that
election.
To respond to Rick Hasen's suggestion that the discussion move on to the
policy level: Any campaign finance system that relies on
contribution limits can only be effective if it prevents candidates from
soliciting money in other guises and spending the money to promote their
own elections. Rep. Flake's initiative campaign in Arizona is a
perfect example. If he can solicit unrestricted contributions to an
initiative campaign and then control the ads that are run with the money,
he can run ads that promote himself just as effectively as if the money
were being contributed directly to his campaign. The only way to
prevent federal officeholders from facing the potential for corruption
that stems from soliciting large corporate contributions is to get them
out of that game completely.
Adam H. Morse
Associate Counsel, Democracy Program
Brennan Center for Justice
161 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Fl.
New York, NY 10013-1205
adam.morse@nyu.edu
www.brennancenter.org
212-992-8648
fax: 212-995-4550