That law, among other things, made it a federal crime for YOU to give
YOUR OWN money to someone you like, if that someone happens to be
running for government office and if you give more than those in
government ALLOW you to give.
(Reflect long and hard on what it means that those in government decide what you’re ALLOWED to do with your own money!)
The “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act” also authorized the government to censor movies, books, magazines, and any published materials deemed by those in government to be “political” and possibly influencing the choices voters make on Election Day.
When Senators McCain and Feingold were urging passage of their “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act,” I took to the pages of the Los Angeles Times and offered three predictions if their bill passed:
FIRST, I predicted that incumbent rates, already high, would go even higher because the restrictions imposed by the “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act” make it nearly impossible for ordinary, non-wealthy citizens to challenge and unseat sitting members of the government, all of whom can get free press coverage any time simply by calling a press conference on Capitol Hill. (I suggested the bill’s name be changed to “Bipartisan Incumbent Protection Act.”)
SECOND, I predicted that more money, not less, would flood into national politics, including individual campaigns, party donations, and lobbying the cronies in Congress, making it yet more difficult for those who are not wealthy to run for office.
THIRD, I predicted that we would see more wealthy individuals who can self-finance their campaigns, not fewer, running for elected offices, which will drive the amount of money in politics up, not down.
Fast forward eighteen years to 2020....
Come later this year, we very well might see two New York billionaires running for President, both of whom can self-finance their own campaigns—one a Democrat turned Republican, the other a Republican turned Democrat—in an age when more money is spent on political campaigns and lobbying than ever before in American history AND incumbent re-election rates are not far from 100%.
Don’t like how things have shaped up politically in the United States? Step one: Repeal ALL campaign finance reform laws, including the 2002 “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act,” and abolish the Federal Elections Commission.
That’s right: Abolish it. Free people should be free to spend their own money any way they want without any need to ask government bureaucrats for permission or provide to them an accounting of when, where, why, or how much money was spent.F
(Reflect long and hard on what it means that those in government decide what you’re ALLOWED to do with your own money!)
The “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act” also authorized the government to censor movies, books, magazines, and any published materials deemed by those in government to be “political” and possibly influencing the choices voters make on Election Day.
When Senators McCain and Feingold were urging passage of their “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act,” I took to the pages of the Los Angeles Times and offered three predictions if their bill passed:
FIRST, I predicted that incumbent rates, already high, would go even higher because the restrictions imposed by the “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act” make it nearly impossible for ordinary, non-wealthy citizens to challenge and unseat sitting members of the government, all of whom can get free press coverage any time simply by calling a press conference on Capitol Hill. (I suggested the bill’s name be changed to “Bipartisan Incumbent Protection Act.”)
SECOND, I predicted that more money, not less, would flood into national politics, including individual campaigns, party donations, and lobbying the cronies in Congress, making it yet more difficult for those who are not wealthy to run for office.
THIRD, I predicted that we would see more wealthy individuals who can self-finance their campaigns, not fewer, running for elected offices, which will drive the amount of money in politics up, not down.
Fast forward eighteen years to 2020....
Come later this year, we very well might see two New York billionaires running for President, both of whom can self-finance their own campaigns—one a Democrat turned Republican, the other a Republican turned Democrat—in an age when more money is spent on political campaigns and lobbying than ever before in American history AND incumbent re-election rates are not far from 100%.
Don’t like how things have shaped up politically in the United States? Step one: Repeal ALL campaign finance reform laws, including the 2002 “Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act,” and abolish the Federal Elections Commission.
That’s right: Abolish it. Free people should be free to spend their own money any way they want without any need to ask government bureaucrats for permission or provide to them an accounting of when, where, why, or how much money was spent.F
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