Letters to the Editor
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‘Reformers’ “Victory” Is Empty’
Ryan Sager’s invective against the McCain-Feingold law, also known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, claims that federal campaign finance reform has failed [National, “Reformers’ ‘Victory’ Is Empty,” March 27, 2007].
But the law was not meant to fix all problems in how federal elections are financed. It was meant to close specific loopholes in federal elections.
Before the new law, huge unregulated contributions from corporations and unions flowed into federal elections. It was a loophole that swallowed whole the rest of campaign finance law.
The act has closed these paths for abuse, but could not be expected to stop every avenue for gaming the political system.
For all the flood of campaign money, this most corrupting flow of funds has been markedly reduced. Of course, candidates and officeholders still spend huge amounts of time fund-raising, and special interests still have pride of place.
Supporters predicted that the law would force parties and politicians to rely on smaller, “hard money” contributions. That’s exactly what happened.
The explosion of fund raising by 2008 candidates reflects a new focus on smaller donors.
Combined with fund raising on the Internet, the law and technology are building a new base for small-donor democracy.
The only way to fully fix the federal election system is by providing a full, functioning public financing system for congressional and presidential elections, which allows publicly funded candidates to compete with privately funded candidates.
CIARA TORRES-SPELLISCY
Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
New York, N.Y.
‘Waiting for Gonzales’
When I saw the headline on the editorial “Waiting for Gonzales,” I thought that it would call for the attorney general to resign [Editorial, “Waiting for Gonzales,” April 13, 2007]. Instead, we are asked to allow Mr. Gonzales to pick the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Even if the Prophet Elijah himself were to reappear with a law degree from Harvard, I would not want him to be beholden to Mr. Gonzales for his anointment as a U.S. attorney.
ANTON MIKOFSKY
New York, N.Y.
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