Democrats' FEC Choice Challenges McCain-Feingold

The Washington Post

Democratic congressional leaders yesterday announced the selection of labor lawyer Robert D. Lenhard to replace Federal Election Commission member Scott Thomas. Thomas has been a leading supporter of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, while Lenhard was part of a union legal team that challenged the law's constitutionality.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), the House and Senate Democratic leaders, praised Lenhard, who is associate general counsel for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. His appointment also is backed by liberal organizations including the AFL-CIO, Sierra Club, NAACP, Planned Parenthood, NARAL-Pro-Choice America and National Organization for Women.

Congressional Democrats provided the overwhelming majority of votes to pass the McCain-Feingold bill last year, even though many party members and strategists predicted the measure's ban on the acceptance of "soft money" by national parties would damage Democrats far more than the GOP. Soft money refers to unlimited contributions by corporations, unions and individuals. ---

"I have a hard time understanding why Senator Daschle, who helped pass McCain-Feingold, would want to put on the commission a dedicated opponent of campaign reform, someone who would use his position not to enforce the law but to weaken it," McCain said.

Lenhard disputed portrayals of him as a McCain-Feingold opponent. He said he was part of the AFL-CIO legal team challenging the constitutionality of specific sections, not the entire law. "I think I will faithfully and forcefully interpret the provisions of the entire" statute, he said. ---

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

the AFL-CIO would want to bring soft money from corporations back into politics. That makes no sense to me. And the same for the Sierra Club who has to fight against corporations that pollute. IMHO, we need to get these massive amounts of money *out* of politics.

More interesting information:

Democratic congressional leaders yesterday announced the selection of labor lawyer Robert D. Lenhard to replace Federal Election Commission member Scott Thomas. Thomas has been a leading supporter of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, while Lenhard was part of a union legal team that challenged the law's constitutionality.

Lenhard disputed portrayals of him as a McCain-Feingold opponent. He said he was part of the AFL-CIO legal team challenging the constitutionality of specific sections, not the entire law. "I think I will faithfully and forcefully interpret the provisions of the entire" statute, he said.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the FEC {including Thomas} unanimously voted to allow soft money from corporations and unions to continue to help financing the two parties' presidential nominating conventions. The commissioners said the McCain-Feingold law's soft-money ban does not apply to fundraising by local host committees in the cities that help the parties stage the conventions, the Associated Press reported.