"Campaign
Finance Reform" Vote Set
The
U.S. House of Representatives has set a vote on so-called "Campaign
Finance Reform," aka Shays-Meehan, for Wednesday, February
13. Debate, which will undoubtedly actuate one of the great political
posture festivals of the season, will be on Tuesday.
The
fast-track schedule, set by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, has forced
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt to expedite a hernia operation,
so there will even be a modicum of human interest in the proceedings.
Look, Ethel. That Gephardt fella can hardly walk, but both sides
of his mouth are still working.
The
corrupting influence of political contributions will be vehemently
denounced by recipients of the contributions, some of whom come
awfully close to practicing extortion to yank and bank them. The
"reformers" will be egged on by The New York Times
and Washington Post, both of which have alzheimered on the
notion that the First Amendment wasnt written exclusively
for them. Having finally gotten the vote for which the "reformers"
whined incessantly, they now indicate that implementation may be
put off until after the 2002 elections, so as not to be "disruptive,"
dont you know.
Wandering
somewhere in the neo-Shakespearean background will be Old John McCain
himself, muttering to all who will listen, "I am tainted. Cleanse
me of my sins." The Democrat National Committee, which has
lost major contributors in countries with no extradition treaties,
will trot out Terry McAuliffe to make sincere statements in support
of clean and penniless politics.
Some
version of this political exercise in cold fusion is likely to pass
and be "reconciled" with the infamous McCain-Feingold
Senate version. The President may even sign it, although this one
represents an exquisite opportunity to stand on the principles being
abandoned right and left by just about everyone else.
The
media and a blitz of gratuitous press releases will make all this
seem as if it matters. It doesabout as much as Mariah Carey
singing the national anthem before the Superbowl, a big build-up
to a footnote the day after.
There
is, in the end, one stumbling block to the extraordinary hubris
and hypocrisy of this crowd: the Constitution of the United States.
As quaint as the phrase, "Congress shall make no law
"
may seem to some members of Congress, it is still, shall we say,
the controlling legal authority, and on that, there are only nine
votes that count.
Maps
to the courthouse will be provided to all who dont know the
way. To read a more distinguished reason than this screed to join
us there, click on Campaign
Finance and the First Amendment
[Posted
February 8, 2002]
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