KPCC Election 2008
Obama opts out of public financing system
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has opted out of the public financing system for the 2008 general election. This is expected to give Obama a significant fundraising advantage in the general election campaign. Both Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain previously committed to pursue the possibility of public financing if the other party’s candidate did as well.
The public financing system is funded by tax dollars, donated by taxpayers by checking a box on their tax returns to give $3 for public campaign financing. If Obama had opted into the public financing system, it would have given Obama access to $84.1 million to use for the general election campaign, but would have placed him under spending limits. No presidential candidate has opted out of using public financing in the general election since changes made to campaign finance laws in the 1970s.
Lawyers from Obama and McCain’s campaigns met to discuss both campaigns opting in to the public financing system, but couldn’t agree on terms when it came to spending by both the campaigns and outside groups like the so-called 527 groups that have no spending limits.
The Obama campaign argues that his grassroots fundraising achieves the ultimate goal of public financing to make campaigns less dependent on large donors seeking political influence. McCain’s campaign argues that Obama is breaking a commitment and showing that he’s not committed to reform.
What do you think about this decision? Should presidential candidates always use public financing, or is it all right for them to be opt out? Should changes be made to the public financing system?
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- June 19, 2008 2:06 PM
- Comments (4)
4 Comments
At least Bush waited until he was elected to break campaign promises. Obama hasn't even been officially nominated and he's starting to break his.
Dear KPCC:
Given that the BCRA [McCain Feingold] is broken, can be worked around by 427's and makes true grassroots actvity more difficult; it is less of an issue than in the past. We have a massive national debt and people are crying foul because our nominee isn't taking the millions out of the public money - please!
His wide spread public donor base proves more than any outmoded rule about how much you can spend for the White House! It is embarassing that the Republican's seem a little light on fat cat money this cycle.
Thom from Glendale
First off, this blog is terribly biased when it says, "Obama [...] previously committed to pursue the possibility of public financing if the other party's candidate did as well." He didn't agree to "pursue", he agreed to use the system as shown below:
In November 2007, Obama answered "Yes" to Common Cause when asked "If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?"
Obama is doing the exact opposite of what he said.
The thing that I find the most disturbing though is not that Obama went back on what he said, I am not surprised at all. He is just another politician after all.
The thing that is truly disturbing is that Obama is saying (from the Boston Globe) "Obama also defends his rejection of public financing by arguing that his legions of grassroots, small-sum donors achieve the purpose of public financing by drowning out the impact of larger contributors." So Obama taking the nationally accepted definition of public financing and changing that definition into something that he finds more politically convenient so he can pretend he didn't flip-flop is astounding. The fact that many of his supporters do not have a problem with this, and actually might even believe Obama's definition change is acceptable is cause for great concern.
It is one thing to go back on promises, it is another to try and distort reality to pretend you didn't go back on promises.
John Mc Cain had to used the the public funding
when his campaign almost died, to assure that the loans would be paid off, He wanted to quit but
couldn't legally. As far as promises are concerned
he has broked most of them, including to his first
wife when he was romancing his present wife, while
married to to his first wife and Cindie was married to her first husband. John even had to sign a prenuptial agreement before Cindie would
married him. Even at 71, he hasn't apparently changed much- but then lots of far right religious
people know about that. Barack Obama at least gives us some hope for a change from the Bush years- or do you really want more?
Posted by an old dink-combat carrier based WW2
fighter pilot- we don't need any old fighter pilots as president, including one with a terrible temper, like John Mc Cain.
June 25, 2008
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