527 Organizations: Unintended Consequences of Campaign “Reform”
By Christopher G. Adamo
The 2004 Presidential election cycle has been unlike any other in recent memory. Several factors contribute to this situation. Admittedly, leftists recognize the “all or nothing” possibilities for their worn out ‘60’s agenda, with George W. Bush perceived as the greatest impediment to their utopian delusions. Furthermore, they remain enraged that they were unable to dimple sufficient numbers of chads in Florida to secure their theft of the 2000 presidential race.
Yet, beyond even this, the political landscape is dramatically shifted this time around.
Campaign finance “reform” legislation, the errant progeny of Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold, was promoted as a means of cleaning up political corruption, though it was clearly never intended to do so. Specific provisions of McCain-Feingold dealt instead with government sanctioned censoring of political advertisements within sixty days of a general election.
Senator McCain made abundantly clear his hopes of ridding the political class from annoying attack ads that any true statesman should recognize as being part of the job. Nor has he ever made a credible case as to how such ads were corrupting the process, and thus how their prohibition would “clean up politics.” Yet despite its blatantly unconstitutional character, the law stands.
But then something happened that the ruling class didn’t anticipate. Americans, being accustomed to living in a country that traditionally endorsed the principle of involvement by the masses, began to coalesce into organizations that have not yet been rendered illegal by the elected aristocracy. And these organizations, to the surprise of many, produced a fundamental alteration in the direction and format of the political debate.
Only a few months ago, most Americans had never heard of a “527” organization, so named on account of the section of the tax code that provides the loophole within which it can exist. Despite media insinuations that these organizations are the domain of right-wing political groups, the exact opposite is true. The overwhelming majority of 527 organizations, and their funding, are the work of staunch leftists, such as the wealthy anti-American businessman George Soros.
This reality, and the possibility of its enormous influence on the political process, caused little or no excitement in the media and among liberal Democrats, who were quite content with the advent of a new arm to their propaganda machine. But then came the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, and everything changed.
On a shoestring budget, the Swift Vets launched a campaign to expose John Kerry’s underhanded dealings during and after his brief service in Vietnam. But while the flagrantly fabricated propaganda of George Soros and Michael Moore never resonated except among the far-left fringe, the message of the Swift Vets rang true, resulting in a major erosion of Kerry’s carefully crafted image as a “war hero.”
Within Democrat circles, it is slowly becoming apparent that their pretense of being political “centrists” is being stripped away by liberal extremists who, in their zeal to attack the President, are revealing their character in no uncertain terms. Democrats’ worst nightmares have come true in that “light of truth,” the mortal enemy of liberalism, is being shined upon them by their own party members.
Efforts by Republican Party insiders to soften the rhetoric, under their misbegotten notion that a “moderate” tone might be more palatable to undecided voters, are fading from the limelight as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth increasingly define the real political debate. And though such controversy is unnerving to the often-timid GOP insiders, among the citizenry it clearly delineates the disparity that exists between candidates.
Contrary to the wishes of the political parties to present a sanitized (often to the point of fraudulent) picture of their respective agendas, both sides are increasingly seen for what they are. On each end of the political spectrum, the 527 groups have redirected political discussions from the standard posturing of the party apparatus to the real intentions and ideologies of the “grassroots.” And while in some cases the results have not been pretty, the reality is nonetheless enlightening.
Campaign finance “reform” is certainly not a good thing. Nevertheless, it has managed to result in the best side of traditional America being contrasted against the worst elements of the left. Though a heinous affront to the principle of free speech, it did not successfully stifle the “rabble” as intended, but instead seems to have empowered them. Somewhere, behind closed doors, John McCain is having one of his infamous tantrums. It is a good day.
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