In opting out of the public financing system, Barack Obama explained that he needed to counter the “smears and attacks” from John McCain’s “allies running so-called 527 groups who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.”
The Politico’s Jonathan Martin interprets the move skeptically:
Obama’s alarmist prophecy – a bit of typical campaign rhetoric meant to scare his own donors into reaching for their credit cards — is wildly at odds with the flatlined state of conservative third-party efforts.
The truth is that, less than five months before Election Day, there are no serious anti-Obama 527s in existence nor are there any immediate plans to create such a group.
The Plank’s Noam Scheiber thinks this reflects pragmatism rather than a change of heart:
Jonathan fingers McCain himself for the dearth of anti-Obama 527 activity, noting that, “every individual interviewed for this story cited … a fear that their party’s nominee will publicly denounce them and hold a grudge.” But, as Jonathan notes, the McCain campaign has sent permissive signals to potential funders since wrapping up the nomination. “He wishes that 527s did not exist on either side,” Steve Schmidt, a McCain operative, says in the story. “But he understands that they do. And he certainly isn’t going to say that one side should have them and one side should not in the context of a presidential campaign.”
My own feeling is that this is largely an expression of pragmatism. Granted, there are a lot of rich ideologues out there willing to attack a Democrat regardless of the political fallout. On the other hand, most wealthy Republicans made their money in the corporate world, where the custom is to keep one eye on the bottom line at all times. These guys may be partisans, but they’re not stupid. They realize there’s a very good chance Obama will be president next year and that he’ll enjoy large majorities in Congress. It would be bad for business to provoke the suddenly resurgent Democrats into ruthless acts of vengeance.
Meanwhile, TPM’s Greg Sargent has more news on the 527 front:
MoveOn, the advocacy group supporting Barack Obama, has decided to permanently shutter its 527 operation, partly in response to the Illinois Senator’s insistence that such groups should not spend on his behalf during the general election, I’ve learned from the group’s spokesperson …
By shuttering its 527, MoveOn is effectively killing its ability to raise money in huge chunks from labor unions, foundations, and big donors who would give over $5,000. The decision doesn’t mean MoveOn will stop spending on Obama’s behalf. Instead it will raise money exclusively with its political action committee, whose average donation is below $50 and will even be raising money with things like bake sales starting this weekend.
“So this sets up an interesting situation in the fall,” adds Donklephant’s Justin Gardner:
Numerous conservative 527s will be attacking Obama, and McCain has already signaled that he’s essentially throwing up his arms and saying, “Hey, not much I can do.” Meanwhile, nearly everything that will attack McCain will be coming from the Obama camp and that means he’ll probably only have to answer for the stuff he puts out. In my mind, McCain would do well to start reigning in 527s sooner rather than later. Because the distraction of having to address what these groups will be putting out during the general election campaign simply won’t be worth any potential gains.
Not sure John Kerry would agree, but we’ll see.
From 1 to 25 of 59 Comments
I am not sure if Obama’s move is cynical, calculated, alarmist, pragmantic, or brilliant, but it is revolutionary. I have no problem witnessing the end of the so called “public” financing system if it means the ultimate end (or at least serious hampering) of 527s on both sides of the aisle. Obama’s current war chest is the result of perhaps the first truly publicly financed campaign in a long time, and I am now proud to be part of the finest “special interest group” there is: voter.
— Mike“In my mind, McCain would do well to start reigning in 527s sooner rather than later…”
Ah, no. he should start reining them in.
— Mike ALexanderWHAT we do is more critical than WHO we elect. The Who’s are important, but they are just one means to an end. Candidates and bloggers are now agonizing over Who might be allowed to finance Who to say certain things about Who might be elected - many means affecting some means affecting one mean.
What’s the last time any official, candidate or blogger addressed an ‘end’ question like: “Are legislators supposed to use their judgment, or vote the way they think most of their constituents want?”
WHAT we need is a regular and convenient but controlled way for We The People to modify Quantitative measures and override Yes-No decisions of legislators. Then legislators could always use their best judgment, because constituents could override whatever they didn’t want, just like the boss of any organization can override anything any consultant or employee proposes without firing anyone.
WHAT I propose was impossible 22 decades ago when it took 22 days for some voters to communicate with their legislator. But with today’s always-open high-speed communications, it could happen IF We The People say: “That’s the kind of CHANGE we want to try.”
David J. Malan, for the
— David J. MalanShow-Me State of Missouri
Interesting chess match. I was pleased to see Move On shut down their 527. That lends credibility to Obama that he’s truly trying to run a different kind of campaign.
— MichaelAs much as I hate to say this…I don’t care what Senator Obama does…I just want him to be elected!! Just imagine what the Supreme Court would look like in 18 mos if McCain is elected; and, god forbid, Mitt is his VP…Mormans will be running the world.
We all need to get behind Senator Obama and save the USA!!
YES WE CAN!!
— Barbara in Palm SpringsThere are ONLY two reasons for Mr Obama to forego public finance:
1. He can raise more money from individual citizens
2. He can avoid taking money from power-brokers and corrupt and evil anti-Citizen interests
Neo-Cons - They LOVE “America”, but hate Americans.
VOTE McCAIN –> to HIDE CHENEY-BUSH crimes forever!
— William DonelsonDonklephant? Great name. And how much credibility can you have when you don’t know “reining in” from “reigning in”? I guess the latter is what Vice President Halliburton does in his secret bunker.
— tsk2001Okay, here we have a guy who wants to run the country but claims to have no control over the 527s on his own side. He’s either lying or admitting an incompetence that is worrying in a potential president.
— kathleenRegardless if the 527s are out full force this election, the fact is that Obama and the public financing puts him in a rock and hard place.
— vwcatHe is getting slammed right now for foregoing public financing by pundits and the right (which is expected).
However, if he went with pubic financing all those pundits who are criticizing him now would be doing the same in calling him a fool for giving up the money and small donors and activists he has energized.
So, go with the money and let the pundits cry.
John McCain is not going to be reigning in anywhere. Reign has to do with ruling or governing (see Queen Elizabeth I). He may want to rein in 527’s as in using the reins to control a team of horses. Caught by the dreaded homophone. At least “rain” wasn’t used.
— Ronald CowinThe decision by the Obama campaign is more than disappointing; itis reprehensible. There is as yet no evidence that big Republican 527s will even be operating in a major way in the fall, so Obama’s reason is just a cover for breaking a promise and engaging in pure opportunism and expedience. He is running as the candidate of change, yet his actions are taking the country back to the dog-eat-dog political ethics of the 19th century. Quite simply, he wants to run on a playing field tilted in his favor. In no other advanced democracy could this kind of tilting occur, so if Obama ends up spending 3 or more times what McCain spends, the reputation of the U.S. will sink even further around the world. Of course he won’t literally buy the election, but a 3-1 or higher Dem/Rep. spending difference will significantly distort the free working of the democratic process and definitely tilt the playing field. If Obama were truly worried mainly about Republican 527s, there were any number of workarounds he could have depended on. He is clearly going on the offensive now and declaring in effect that he doesn’t have confidence he can win on a level playing field.
This is a very sad day for the Dems and for America. I never thought it would be Obama who would betray us like this. He will roll in money and buy veritable tsunamis of distorting, subliminal TV ads, but once he loses his image as the person who is truly concerned about democratic politics, how can he expect to get all the votes he needs? He should rescind this decision immediately. His clean image is worth more than money. If he doesn’t rescind his decision, then it looks like mud-throwing may become the staple of campaign discourse from now on. And it will be mostly Obama’s responsibility for not having negotiated seriously with McCain.
Many say Obama’s private donations are actually public. This is pure sophism, of course. In the Dem party, the ends do not justify the means. Period. Until now this has been unwritten Dem policy. But now the Dem party has decided to use Republican campaign methods. Can it remain the Dem party we know? The ends are always influenced and tainted by the means, so if Obama is really serious about rejecting public financing, he is likely to be the Big Money president if he wins. He should think more deeply about the fact that in the long run the means always distort the ends.
Is there anything wrong with one candidate spending a lot more than the other? You bet. Most advanced democracies mandate public financing, and many forbid TV ads, because this guarantees that each candidate has an equal opportunity to get his or her message across to voters. Being good at financing should never be a qualification for a candidate. There is no necessary connection at all between being a good fundraiser and serving well in public office. Politics and economic activity are fundamentally different, and to confuse them is to allow some candidates to have more time getting their message across than others. It’s like a basketball game in which one team uses both hands and the other has one hand tied behind their backs. Which will win?
Limiting the influence of private donations is not only about candidates being beholden after they win; it’s just as much about preserving a level playing field so voters can judge the candidates equally and fairly. It’s about *voters’ rights.* Of course, Obama will also benefit from bundled donations, so he will end up quite beholden if he wins, but for the moment the crucial thing is that Obama is about to try to win by massively outspending his opponent, and this is anathema in a true democracy. I am shocked by Obama’s decision and will probably vote Green as a protest against this attempt to commodify the election. I suspect many others will also be very disappointed in someone they thought they could respect.
— demwitAs long as Republicans can spend millions turning war heroes into disserters and vice versa, we don’t have any kind of campaign reform worth saving.
— RudyThank Scalia and friends for killing real reform - those hypocritical constitutional “originalists” who would claim Thomas Jefferson viewed money as speech.
Obama has to deal with more than 527s; he has to deal with the multibillion dollar corporate media. They pick up stories from Fox News story titles that end with exclamation points (”Obama is Unpatriotic!”) and turn them into questions (”Is Obama Unpatriotic?”). CNN has been doing this for months. They’ve not only run stories questioning his patriotism. One was “Is Obama Too Liberal?”. A story Anderson Cooper did last night was “Is Obama Playing the Race Card?”
And on the same night as the recent CNN attack on Obama, Chris Matthews asserted that Obama had broken his promise that he would not take public financing when the truth is that Obama made no such promise. The corporate media are despicable, but I’m not sure Obama can ever raise enough money to counter the constant attacks and distortions made by multibillion-dollar corporate media.
— LanWhat’s missing in the discussion about 527s is the fact that the mainstream media is only too willing to allow spurious charges to become part of the discourse, allowing false statements to take root and fester.
Interesting that these days, the term ’swift-boating’ is pretty much the equivalent of political slander.
Yet, in 2004, while the swift-boating occurred, it was, for the most part, reported on uncritically.
Having seen the way that the GOP has waged their campaigns in the past, I do not blame Senator Obama for taking matters into his own hands.
— ScootmandubiousGiven what Gore and Kerry experienced most Democrats, perhaps including Obama, have developed something of a paranoid mentality. How will conservatives somehow manage to make up seemm like down this time around? I’m not so sure this is cynicism on Obama’s part.
— John in ChicagoThere is NO WAY McCain can win the election. If he controls the 527’s –and can’t smear Obama–he’ll lose because Obama’a message, platform, and personality are superior. If the 527’s do their thing–and smear Obama—he’ll lose because those tactics will reinforce the fact that the Republicans are selfish, fear mongering, and only interested in maintaining power. They offer more of the same. So, hopefully, Republicans will save their money by not investing in a losing venture and try to appease themselves by no longer supporting a party whose policies have so damaged our country. The writing is on the wall!
— Jane M. JordanI’ve just visited this blog for the first time. I’m a little embarrassed that I even spent the time looking at it. What a load of life you are all wasting getting caught up in all this silliness. The Republicans are war criminals, white collar criminals and environmental criminals. Let’s rid ourselves of them at any cost.
— BhavaMost voters are Star Stuck. They should take some time to look at the Real Ambitious Say what they want to hear politician.Then Flip Flop on what he said he believed in.Any Thing To Win;;;
— R. GrzybowskiNo anti-Obama 527s in existence, eh? Funny that the Times reports today on one — ExposeObama.com — who spread fearmongering nonsense (e.g., Obama is a Muslim) but only need the money to do it. In contrast, Freedom’s Watch, another 527, has publicly announced it will spend $250 million on anti-Obama propaganda during the coming campaign. That sum is more than six times Obama’s current war chest (in its entirety) and three times the entire amount the Obama campaign would be allowed to spend with public financing (some 84 million). And that’s only ONE 527, funded by the astronomically rich hedge-fund tycoons and their ilk.
Jonathan Martin at Politico should do his homework before declaring such groups non-existent.
Obama is right to learn from Kerry’s fatal error and respond forcefully and immediately to this drivel. To do so, he’ll need cash.
The “he broke a pledge” angle on this move is pure manufactured “scandal.” Obama promised to pursue public financing with the Republicans, no negotiations in fact too place, he has surveyed the territory ahead, seen McCain cut loose the 527 dogs of distraction and has decided not to stand on a minor issue of principle and lose in November. In fact, after 7 years of pig-headed stubbornness in the Oval Office, it’s refreshing to see a leader who will change his position in the face of new facts on the ground.
Obama’s campaign is funded by people like me, giving $50 a pop, and so it’s de facto publicly funded. People should drop the feigned high dudgeon and move on.
— Gift13After we get past the whiners at the NYT. Lets see, front page, above the fold; we can conclude that Obama is not breaking any finance laws and is doing this differntly from recent presidential elections.
It might occur to some that by opting out and reducing the need for 527s he will be able to control his messaaging (and the Party’s) and create a more positive, issues related conversation with the electorate.
The FEC is toothless. Let’s strengthen finance reform but first, let’s create a positive political force to assure we get meaningful results in Washington.
— EricEveryone is out the get the most popular politician in American history? I’m confounded.
— JayAfter this year is over, we need two electoral reforms.
We need a primary system that uses five regional primary groupings, 3-4 weeks apart, and rotates which region goes first. Among other reasons, it’s crazy to have candidates flying cross-country daily, risking life and health unnecessarily.
We need a workable public financing system, or the next time the plutocracy will elect a true plutocrat and our descent to banana republic will be complete.
— David in ToledoAs Richard M. Nixon taught us: Even paranoids have real enemies.
— Harry FreibergThe swift-boaters in 2004 proved that the best defense is a good offense, and good offense means money. Compared to what McDonald’s and its ilk spend to advertise artery-clogging food, political spending–public funds or no–is a drop in the bucket. And Obama is saying “fool me twice, shame on me.” He’s not going to get fooled twice. And I think it shows that, unlike most Dems of the last 30 years, he really wants to play to win. He understands that politics is tough, and he knows–as do we all–that every attack has to be acknowledge and countered somehow.
It’s good that Obama is controlling the Dems’ message, not a bunch of dimwits at MoveOn or other 527 groups. And it really puts the burden on McCain to either tolerate the racist venom from the far right, or to shut them up. He appears much more inclined to the former. Meanwhile, Obama has the funds to run a 50 state campaign–better that than unilateral disarmament.
— Tom in RaleighI’m confused. Today I saw a fairly vicious attack on McCain (for the third time) paid for by Move On.??
Who is doing what? One would hope at least the press would find out the truth before writing what they say witout comment.
— Don Heyden