McCain, Feingold should be praised

A "new world" of campaigning might soon be on its way.\nThe McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill, expected to pass a full Senate vote today, would change the face of political fund raising as we know it.\nThe bill would eliminate soft money contributions, which are unlimited contributions to political parties by corporations, unions and other wealthy individuals and organizations. It would also allow individuals and groups to give a larger amount of "hard" money contributions, which are regulated gifts to the parties and candidates. It would put strict regulations on fund raising by independent advocacy groups for "issue ads" that say the names of candidates and are broadcast two months or less before the election.\n The bill's most immediate impact would be lessening the influence of political parties. The Democratic and Republican parties raised together nearly half a billion dollars in soft money in the last election -- money that would be banned under the McCain-Feingold bill. \nCongratulations to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) for continuing their quest to clean up an embattled campaign fund-raising system.\nThe public can have better confidence in a system where candidates are on equal footing, regardless of which big money backer its respective party has in its pocket. We welcome a time where money given to candidates will be spent on presenting the issues, not buying votes.\nMcCain and Feingold seek to give the public back our faith in the political process. \n"As long as the wealthiest Americans and richest organized interests can make the six and seven figure donations to political parties and gain the special access to power that generosity confers on the donor, most Americans will dismiss the most virtuous politician's claim of patriotism," McCain said.\nPolitical power shouldn't be given to the highest bidder. It's time that we return the power of the elections to where it belongs -- the American people. Let's hope the Senate and the House will do just that, passing the bill this week. \nStaff vote: 7 - 3 - 0\nyes - no - abstain