Tomorrow, the Senate is scheduled to hold a cloture vote on the DISCLOSE (Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections) Act, WHICH TKTKTKTTK. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case earlier this year, Congress has been trying to reign in corporate campaign spending. The House passed the DISCLOSE Act on June 24. Its key provisions include:
Enhance Disclaimers: Make CEOs and other leaders take responsibility for their ads.
[[DOESN’T REALLY TELL ME MUCH OF WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO / VAGUE Enhance Disclosures: It is time to follow the money.
Prevent Foreign Influence: Foreign countries and entities should not be determining the outcome of our elections.
Prevent Government Contractors from Spending: Taxpayer money should not be spent on political ads.
Provide the Lowest Unit Rate for Candidates and Parties: Special interests should not drown out the voices of the people.]]
Anticipating Republican opposition, Obama made a brief appearance in the Rose Garden this afternoon to encourage bipartisan support of the bill. Politically, this is a good bill for Obama and Democrats to get behind. The Citizens United ruling is widely unpopular; according to a February poll, 85 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Republicans, and 81 percent of independents oppose it. Nevertheless, Republicans seem set on opposing it.
The DISCLOSE Act suffers from what a lot of Democratic legislation is afflicted by these days: mediocrity. There are carve-outs, most notably for the NRA and some unions, which make both progressives and conservatives wary of the bill. Additionally, it’s questionable whether disclosure requirements, without spending limitations, would actually protect elections from corporate money. Back in December, Matthew Yglesias made the persuasive argument that Democrats needed a “losable fight;” that unlike health care, where failure was unacceptable, they need a cause to champion even if they didn’t have the votes to pass it. It’s very possible the DISCLOSE Act will die. But Obama can argue he went out swinging against corporate interests. That’s not to say that campaign finance reform isn’t a very serious issue – it is; but with a flawed bill like this one which only addresses part of the problem, this could be a nice, losable fight this election season.
