Senate Gives Overwhelming Support to Campaign Finance Bill

The state Senate passed VPIRG-backed limits on political contributions on a quick voice vote on Friday. In the roll call vote on the bill (S.278) taken the day before, the vote was 24-5 in favor of the bill. The vote was almost entirely along party lines with Democrats, though Sen. Diane Snelling (R-Chittenden) crossed party lines to vote in favor.

Sen. Jeanette White - Chair of the Gov. Operations Committee, and Sen. Ed Flanagan were the chief backers of the bill. Two Republicans, Kevin Mullin and George Copprenrath, argued on the floor of the Senate against the bill's passage but their arguments were more rhetorical than factual, and they failed to generate any support.

James Bopp, an Indiana attorney and the best friend the fat cat special interests ever had, also spoke out against the bill by phone during committee hearings. The litigation-happy Bopp is threatening to sue the state again as he did 10 years ago on behalf of the Right to Life Committee and the Republican Party.

The bill also drew attention from a right-wing lobby group near Washington, DC. The Center for Competitive Politics sent an urgent memo opposing the bill to members of the House and Senate this week. CCP was founded by Bradley Smith, former head of the Federal Election Commission. Before being appointed to head the FEC, Smith called for the repeal of the very law that established the agency. Smith thinks the Swift Boat attacks demonstrate a vibrant democracy. He's said that "the ideal system is ... no regulation." And he claims that "soft money is one of the good things in the system, and it continues to puzzle me why soft money in particular creates such outrage."

Will Gov. Douglas also side with soft money advocates and Swift Boat defenders? Or will he decide to side with voters this year and sign the bill? We'll know soon enough; the House begins consideration of the bill next week and it should be passed by both houses before the end of January.

Paul