Howard Dean and and Democratic National Committee lawyer Joe Sandler yesterday announced that the Democratic National Committee would file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding John McCain's violation of the primary campaign spending limits. On the call, I asked whether they would ask the campaign finance reform advocacy groups -- like the five that sent letters to Senator Obama echoing a baseless McCain attack on Barack Obama, to join in the complaint. Governor Dean answered that they would not ask nonpartisan groups to join the party's complaint, but that he would certainly "expect" them to share the concern about McCain's manipulation of public financing in the primaries, evading the choice between public money and unlimited spending, through a series of complex loans.
As it happens, the five groups sent McCain a letter late last week. Did they ask him to obey the spirit of the law, or keep his own commitment to public financing?
