Show the McCain-Feingold McCain Bill Have Passed Is the McCain- McCain McCain Feingold Feingold Bill trampling ng on our constitutional constitutional constitutional right to free speech r f By Shiloh Winder Staff Writer A couple of weeks ago we here at Salt f Lake Community C College had our hotly contested oriented issue-oriented student body f elections At the same time our federal e leaders in Washington were busy preparing preparing preparing ing for future elections of their own But not in the typical fashion In passing the McCain-Feingold McCain bill and signing it into law our Legislative and Executive branches of government violated the oaths they took to protect the Constitution Like a twelve year-old year child who t shoved his belongings under his bed then t proudly showed his mother a clean room i. i so he could go out and play the Senate responded to the medias media's incessant demands for campaign finance reform by bypassing passing a slapdash bill which could could only look like reform to the short- short sighted The reason it passed and the reason there has been little outcry against i it is because it gives both congress and the media what they want t The deceitfully self self congratulatory tory reform bill makes direct attacks on First Amendment protections of political speech by preventing parties and PAC's from airing issue ads in the month pre pre- pre pre- ceding a primary and in the six weeks preceding a general election In other words it denies private groups the right to engage in political speech at any time when it could make a apolitical apolitical apolitical political difference The reasoning is that Political Action Committees make large contributions contributions contributions so large that some fear they corrupt the system and drown out the voice of the average voter v u ug Those who assume this is isto isto isto to forget that are nothing nothing nothing noth noth- ing more than large groups of average voters who share common common common com com- mon beliefs and have united to tomake tomake tomake make their voice loud enough to tobe tobe be he heard I U v I a ulI bur us McCain-Feingold McCain was that it protects the Political Action Committees don t drown out the voice of the average average aver aver- average age voter they are the voice of the average voter v ter Restricting the from speaking near an election is not silencing a corruptive monster it is silencing 42 million Americans who contribute to it in order to support candidates who represent their views vIews I It is also important to remember large groups do not donate to politicians who disagree with them and then expect them to change their policy The Sierra Club is more likely to donate to John Kerry than Orrin Hatch ACs dont don't drown out the voice of the average voter they are the voice of the average voter Without the running running running run run- ning issue ads late in elections the handful handful handful hand hand- ful of Americans on media editorial boards McCain-Feingold's McCain only true cheerleaders will have the monopoly on information Tt TL I. I r u jobs of those who voted for it I Incumbents 1 in congress currently have a reelection percentage in the upper nineties Even with Even with ith campaign spending laws as they are its it's tougher to get some someone someone someone one out of the US Senate then it was the the- Soviet Politburo Getting sufficient money to surmount surmount surmount sur sur- mount the mailings personal staffs and travel expenses the government already provides for incumbents for free is already nearly impossible Not to mention the extra time and money it ft takes to introduce the public to someone new Without help from issue ads mounting a successful challenging campaign will be infinitely tougher Rather than reform congress essentially voted itself a job security package The McCain McCain-Feingold has its good provisions such as requiring much needed disclosure on contributions to and Parties It also raises the antiquated antiquated anti anti- antiquated limits on individual contrib contributions to the same Both of those enhance personal responsibility and reflect the essence of true reform providing more information to the voters But the bottom line is that our congressmen and President have implemented implemented implemented legislation to make their own jobs mare m mere re secure Legislation which at their own admission steps on our precious right to engage in political debate Worst of all they have done it under the guise of reform Sadly rather than having been criticized by those who are the self pro claimed watchdogs iq in the media they have been congratulated by the hypocrites to whom they have given an information monopoly Heres Here's hoping that when the McCain-Feingold McCain bill inevitably ends up at the Supreme Court our judicial branch takes its it's Const Constitutional duty a bit more seriously A |