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February 25, 2008

Panel on the DNC and McCain's Financing

FOX News Special Report With Brit Hume

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, (D) CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: We want John McCain to obey the law with his own name on it. We're tired of seeing him say one thing then deciding that the law doesn't apply to him after the fact.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we're doing is exactly what Howard Dean did in previous elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUME: So what is this all about? This is a fight over John McCain and his stated intention at one point in the course of this campaign to receive federal matching funds--that is to say, to have federal money supplied to his campaign to finance it.

Now, you can do that. But if you do, you must agree to certain spending limits.

Well, McCain indicated an intention to accept this federal money. He hadn't gotten any yet, and he is close to the limit already on what the spending limits would be if he were to get that money. And indeed, if he proceeded on this course, he would be unable to spend much of anything between now and when the general election begins under the law in the fall.

He has now said, no, no, we're not going to take the money. We haven't gotten any; we're not going to take it. He is being accused now of violating the law with his name on it by Howard Dean. What about it--Fred?

BARNES: He's not going to take any taxpayer money, and he's going to raise money and spend his own regardless of this case.

Howard Dean is, of course, a total hypocrite. He was the one who said he would take the taxpayer financing, and then changed his mind later, so he doesn't have any ethical standing in this thing at all.

The truth is McCain could have gotten--would be in a position where he would be stuck if he had done one of either of two things--if he had actually taken some of the taxpayer money, which he hadn't, mainly because--

HUME: It hadn't come yet.

BARNES: It hadn't come. Well, the whole federal election commission is tied up. They don't have enough commissioners, and that's another story.

Or the second thing is if he had said "I'm going to get this money to a bank; lend me something on the basis that I'm going to get this money." But he didn't say that either.

It is kind of funny, actually--he told the bank, look, I'm not going to take the money, but if I do lousy in New Hampshire, then I may take the taxpayer money, and I will come back to you, and that will be my collateral. But the terms of that were never met, so it didn't happen. So I think he is going to wiggle out of this.

Now there are some people who oppose campaign refinance reform of the John McCain variety think there is some poetic justice in McCain getting al tangled up in this.

LIASSON: Yes, but I think he is going to continue to spend money. I'm certainly not an expert on campaign finance, but it seems like if it wasn't collateral for the loan, and he never took the money, then he didn't enter into the public financing system for the primaries.

And that's what this is about. As soon as he is nominated, he will enter into the general public financing system. What the Democrats are hoping is that he won't have time to start--

HUME: I know, but, the word from McCain is that if he were found to be in that system, he would be basically unable to spend any more, raise or spend any more money, between now and September. That's what happened to Bob Dole. Bob Dole got stuck in that.

KONDRACKE: In order of him to be deprived of this money, the FEC would have to rule that--which they cannot do, because there are four vacancies on the six-member commission, and this is not going to get broken. So McCain is free to spend the money.

Now, some day, there may be a full SEC back in power, but it is always split three and three--three Republicans and three Democrats--and they will probably deadlock. It takes four to pass any kind of a resolution, so my guess is that McCain will be able to spend what he wants to spend.

Then you have this added controversy where Obama promised back in March that if McCain would agree to it, of if the Republican nominee would agree to it, that he would accept public financing--

HUME: You mean Obama?

KONDRACKE: Obama--for the general election.

HUME: And?

KONDRACKE: And he is suggesting that that was an option and not a pledge, based on--McCain immediately accepting it at that time, and McCain wants to hold him to it.

BARNES: All this is an argument I think, and Mort would disagree, an argument for total deregulation of campaign financing. Just deregulate the whole thing.

(CROSSTALK)

HUME: In other words, every time someone makes a contribution, the public can find out exactly how much money was given, who gave it, and who these people are.

KONDRACKE: Yes.

HUME: Not just a name, but the company they work for, and whatever.

BARNES: This would put election lawyers out of business, but I could live with that.

KONDRACKE: The argument for some public financing would be that a challenger who is not well-known--this doesn't apply to Barack Obama, obviously, because he did fine without it--but the challenger who is not well-known needs some seed money, and you would get some matching money to get started. That would be a good idea.

BARNES: You could still do that; you could still deregulate the system and you could still have that. I'm not in favor of any public financing, but you could still do it.

HUME: A last quick round on this--what effect of the Nader candidacy? Ralph Nader running again, aged 74.

KONDRACKE: Zero.

LIASSON: Miniscule to zero.

BARNES: If I were a Democrat, I would worry. This could be a very close race, and he won't have to get that many votes to decide, and that could be the balance of power in some states.

HUME: It is interesting that Barack Obama, who is the likely nominee, doesn't seem to be far left enough for Ralph. He is an old friend of mine--I like Ralph, but this is kind of telling, isn't it?

BARNES: Yes.

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