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Apr. 2, 2007

Playing Fair in the Game of Politics

By Chris Heagarty

RALEIGH – Trying to clamp down on the potentially corrupting influence of special-interest cash in elections is sometimes like a game of whack-a-mole.

For the uninitiated, whack-a-mole is the classic carnival game where plastic moles pop up from holes while the player attempts to bop the critters on the head, driving them back down -- only to have others emerge from yet more holes. For many a flustered contestant, it can be an exercise in futility.

So it seems at times in the effort to close loopholes exploited by deep-pocketed special interests with money to burn and an ax to grind, as they duck and dodge campaign finance laws designed to protect the fairness and integrity of the election system.

Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. It’s better known as the McCain-Feingold Bill, named for its primary sponsors -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.). The law has successfully stemmed the tide of unregulated cash into the coffers of political parties and political action committees (PACs), while encouraging more grass-root efforts by these groups as they court small-dollar donors.

But like the critters in the whack-a-mole game, big money has managed to pop back up in the form of a relatively new breed of political organization called the 527.

Named for the section of the IRS code granting them their tax status, 527 groups have made a profound impact on elections across the nation. The contentious 2004 presidential contest saw 527s make their mark with organizations like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacking John Kerry and America Coming Together blasting George W. Bush.

That year, 527 groups spent $423 million to push their agenda on voters in hopes of influencing federal elections, according to campaign finance scholar Tony Corrado. Ten donors gave at least $4 million each, and two contributors poured in $20 million a piece.

Here in the Tar Heel state, 527s have also shaped the outcome of our elections. One right-leaning 527 group had a major role in fueling an intra-party feud that played out in the Republican legislative primaries last spring. Another 527 organization, funded primarily by Democratic donors, insinuated itself into last year’s N.C. Supreme Court contests.

What makes 527 groups attractive to big-money special interests is also what makes them a growing threat to the integrity of the election system: unlike political parties and PACs, 527s can rake in unlimited amounts of corporate and labor union cash to influence elections. And while current law requires that candidates, parties and PACs disclose the names of their contributors, 527 groups have managed to keep voters in the dark when it comes to the source of their money.

That could finally change under legislation proposed by McCain and Feingold requiring 527s to follow the same laws as any other organization trying to tip election results.

“Our proposal will not shut down 527s,” McCain said when he introduced the 527 Reform Act this past January. “It will simply require them to abide by the same federal regulations every other federal political committee must abide by in spending money to influence federal elections.”

Indeed, why shouldn’t groups that act like PACs have to play by the same rules as PACs?

That ought to be food for thought for our state legislators as we fast approach what will be a costly -- and potentially nasty -- 2008 election. Surely, 527 groups from both ends of the political spectrum are ready to pour corporate and union cash into our elections, looking to get their candidates into office and perhaps a few favors down the road.

Yes, it is true that if we close the 527 loophole, special interests may devise new tricks to skirt the rules designed to make our elections fair and above board. It may be quite a bit like whack-a-mole. But while the dejected player of that diversion only misses out on a stuffed animal if he walks away from the game, the very integrity of our democratic system could be undermined if we blanch in the face of this challenge.

Chris Heagarty is the executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.