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July 8, 2004
CAMPAIGN
FINANCE – ONLY THE FACTS, PLEASE
President
Maine AFL-CIO
Generally speaking, in public discourse, one should avoid personal
criticism and limit the discussion to the issues at hand. However, an
exception may be the recent (BDN July 7) column by Linda Chavez giving her
claims about unions “routinely breaking” campaign finance laws, “lying” on
union tax returns, and making “illegal use” of union dues.
First, Linda Chavez should not be confused with Linda
Chavez Thompson. The latter is Executive Vice President of the national
AFL-CIO – a woman who rose from being an agricultural laborer to become
the first person of color and the first woman to be elected to her present
office.
Conservative "Darling"
The other Linda Chavez is (according to NBC News) “a
darling of the conservatives” who was nominated by President Bush to be
U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2001. She withdrew when it was revealed she
was personally and knowingly employing an illegal immigrant. She is on
record as opposing both the minimum wage and affirmative action. She has
also, in a previous newspaper column three times called Senator John Kerry
a “communist apologist” and in a rabid anti-union fund raising letter
called AFL-CIO President John Sweeney “an avowed Socialist.”
Campaign finance has been an important issue for decades
and, despite recent legislation, remains a problem of national importance
today. However, the Chavez column provides few facts and sheds little, if
any, light on the problem.
Zero Information
Chavez “estimates” total union campaign spending at more
than a half billion dollars but provides zero information about who made
the estimate and when it was made. She states that unions “routinely break
the law” but bases the attack entirely on her limited, personal union
experience of 25 years ago. She says no one monitors whether or not unions
are illegally and directly involved in the campaigns of specific
candidates. However, in Maine at least, this type of activity is closely
restricted and routinely monitored by a state commission. She details
violations of campaign finance law but again the details relate entirely
to personal experiences of 25 years ago.
If Linda Chavez wants to make her points why not use the
well researched and factual material on campaign finance, donations and
spending readily and abundantly available on the Internet instead of
personal experience that is impossible to verify?
When it comes to the issue of campaign finance it is
probably true that almost no one is happy with the current situation,
despite the recent legislation.
Will Spend $3 Billion
It is startling, for instance, to read that, in the United
States this election year, presidential and congressional campaigns are
expected to spend “well over” $3 BILLION dollars in their efforts to win.
Contrast this with Canada where in 2000 the political parties and the
candidates spent a total of only $72 MILLION on campaigns.
The basic reason for the huge difference is that Canada
limits candidates spending and the United States, as a result of a Supreme
Court ruling, attempts to limit and restrict political donations but puts
no limit on candidate spending unless the candidate accepts federal
campaign funding. Obviously, controlling donations is much more difficult
and complex than monitoring and controlling spending – and far less
successful.
Business Spends More
Chavez would have us believe that unions are constantly
flooding the political campaigns with a tidal wave of money. The fact is
that the political playing field is awash with money from corporations and
the very rich. In the 2002 off year elections, for instance, big business
outspent working family advocates $709 million to $62 million. This huge
12-to-1 disparity is detailed in the most current information from the
Federal Election Commission – facts that Chavez conveniently ignores.
The Center for Responsive Politics reports that business out
spent unions 15-to-1 in cash and 17-to-1 in “soft money” contributions in
the 2000 presidential year.
More Union Voters
Unions have fought this rising tide of business political
donations with a strong member based effort to increase voter
registration, educate union members and get out the vote. This effort has
worked. These new voters in union households represented 26 percent of the
total vote in 2000 – an increase up from 19 percent in 1992.
Both unions and corporations have a legal right to reach
out politically to voters as long as the voters are, in the case of unions
their members, and, in the case of corporations, their stockholders.
However, it would appear that corporations appear to use a fire hose of
money on elections and unions, with their limited financial resources,
prefer using members to directly contact other members and provide
election materials.
Hard and Soft Money
There are problems not only with the limits on
donations but also with the definition of what constitutes “hard money”
and “soft money.” There is also a debate currently raging about the
so-called 527 organizations where Republicans are frightened by the fact
that pro-Democratic 527 organizations have (as of June) raised $106
million compared with only $33 million raised by pro-Republican groups in
this election cycle.
However,
this Democratic advantage disappears when these figures are added to the
amounts raised by the national party committees and the presidential
campaigns. Then the Republicans pull far ahead with $557 million to the
Democrats $393 million raised so far.
Corporate "Bundling"
Much more could be said about the campaign finance
issue including corporate “bundling” (assembling a number of small
donations into one big donation) of money to gain political influence
which the New York Times called a way for corporations and industry to
“easily evade limits on campaign contributions.” However, such discussion
and analysis should be aimed at understanding the dimensions and character
of the problem and attempting to resolve it – not at unsubstantiated
attacks, such as the Chavez column, that are based, not on fact, but on
personal opinion and prejudice.
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