Ah, consistency. Saudi nationals attacked us so we bomb Iraq. GOP lobbyists and congresscritters get caught in with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar... time put restraints on 527s. Just in time for the 2006 elections too. These guys have absolutely no time for subtle do they?
As part of the House GOP proposals, "527" organizations that operate independently of the political parties would no longer be allowed to collect unlimited sums from individuals. Democratic-leaning 527s have accepted tens of millions of dollars from such wealthy backers as investor George Soros and insurance mogul Peter B. Lewis.Instead, the groups would be governed by federal campaign finance laws that would restrict such giving to a total of $30,000 from individuals per year. By contrast, during the 2004 election cycle, Soros gave $27 million and Lewis gave nearly $24 million to Democratic-oriented 527 groups, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan research company.
Republicans were excited at the prospect of crippling these groups. "We strongly commend these efforts as an important step towards much-needed reform," said a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
Time to call this "effort" what it really is, Corruption Reform. They're going to dance and talk until public awareness dwindles and then manipulate the law in their favor. Look for the wife clause to be added as a rider in the bill. (no wonder gays want marriage.)
Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) wife, acting as his fundraiser, was getting a 15% cut of contributions coming into his campaign. That sounds sketchy to us, but you never know in D.C., so we asked around to people who do know. The verdict: it sounds as bad to experts as it does to you. And a strong case can be made that Doolittle broke the law.