In reply to Bruce Cain,

Virtually all of the scholarly evidence on money and corruption is limited to analyzing the relationship betwee hard money contributions (usually from PACs) and individual votes in the House and Senate.  This research is largely irrelevant to the arguments about party soft money and the policy process.  The expert reports and majority opinion provide ample argumentation and some documentation on this matter.

Nor have the sponsors or defenders of the new law predicted dramatic reversals in policy.  Realism pervades the trial record and majority opinion.  The same can't be said of critics and journalists who after initially claiming McCain-Feingold would never pass and then that it would never be upheld by the courts now rush to say it won't make any difference.  Give us a break!  Let's all systematically monitor the implementation of the new law and retain the capacity to be surprised by our findings.

Tom Mann