Campaign finance reform continues to be a current policy issue of concern to President Clinton, and one that is on his public agenda. Congress has spoken out in favor of the need for reform, but little has been accomplished legislatively. Public opinion appears to be in favor of campaign finance reform, but the issue has failed to generate the kind of enthusiasm needed to push a reform bill through Congress.
Senate Bill 1219, a tough bipartisan campaign finance reform bill, was introduced in the Senate by Senators John McCain (R-Arizona), Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin), and Fred Thompson (R-Tennessee). Although it represents a critically important breakthrough in the fight to clean up the corrupt campaign finance system in Washington, it has not seen much success.
The issue of campaign finance reform (and its corollary bill, S. 1219) will be examined in view of the following topics: external support of the bill, party support, political action committees (PACs), lobbyists, constitutional factors, and extent of public concern. A brief background of S. 1219 will serve as a springboard for further discussion on the above topics. It will become apparent that a bill requiring reform--such as S. 1219--has a tough road ahead of it--especially since such a bill literally bites the hand that feeds it.
The Congress elected in 1994 claimed to have a mandate from the people because of the number of Republicans elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Republicans promised to end usual practices inside the Washington beltway by changing the way business is done in Washington. However, you cannot change Washington without first changing the corrupt finance system that allows huge amounts of special-interest money to influence elections.
As could be expected, the Republicans and Democrats have been deadlocked over the issue of campaign finance reform efforts. Many Washington insiders would be content to s...