Dartblog

He is wrong on the issue, almost certainly a hypocrite, but I happen to think what Barack Obama is doing with respect to campaign financing is a pretty good thing. The issue is the principle of public financing and limits to the contributions that groups and individuals can make to a candidate along with hundreds of other regulations on advertising, support, etc. Barack Obama and John McCain support it, it being “campaign finance reform,” “limits on political speech,” or whatever you want to call it.

The difference between the two is that Obama has opted out of a key part of the system, public financing, despite his pledge to take it. His cover is that he maintains the particular system in place right now, much of it passed under the McCain-Feingold bill, does not work. I agree with Obama, notwithstanding the fact that he broke his pledge to take it and still supports strict controls on campaign speech (perhaps when it might be more convenient for him). McCain has a less nuanced position, which is to say his words and actions both converge on the wrong.

But I’ll return to Obama because an article about his fundraising successes is what prompted me to write these comments. Specifically Obama has raised $66 million in the past months, a record figure, made even more impressive by the unfortunate policy positions people with this money were convinced to support and by the fact that there were many thousands of individuals brought in to political giving by the Obama campaign. Perhaps most importantly, and admirably, although the last point is commendable as well, is that Obama’s success in this respect demonstrate the failings, practical and ideological, with campaign finance laws. On the practical side, an enterprising privately-funded candidate should be able to outraise candidates on the public dole, thus not having to obey many of the limitations and restrictions that come with taking that money, essentially (or potentially) making public financing a handicap. On the ideological side, Obama’s success demonstrates the idiocy of campaign finance laws to begin with, what is the point if millions of individuals and groups are already showing their support to the candidate they believe in, with contributions large and small, and making their voices heard?