Ornstein on President Primary Funding System

Norm Ornstein on fixing the presidential primary funding system.

The public presidential primary funding system imposes draconian limits on spending in states, spending limits that have not been adjusted for 30 years as well as imposes a cap on primiary spending which, for just about any candidate with a hope of winning, is spent before Super Tuesday. George W. Bush in 2000 was the first, not self-financed candidate to bypass public funding. Both Kerry and Bush,and Howard Dean eventually, operated without public funds in 2004. In 2008, all serious contenders are probably looking to bypass public funding.

As Ornstein writes:

Interestingly, this time both parties have a problem with a broken system, and for the Republicans, the situation may even be worse.

Some time ago, the savvy former GOP campaign lawyer Michael Toner, who now sits on the Federal Election Commission, grasped the problem and stepped up to the plate along with fellow Commissioner Scott Thomas, a Democrat. They came up with a constructive, reasonable and pragmatic restoration plan, to sharply raise the primary spending limit overall and state by state, to double the match from $250 to $500 and to index everything for inflation. They would make other positive changes, including raising the threshold a candidate must meet to qualify for matching funds, making them available earlier in the process and raising sharply the check-off amount on tax returns used to finance the system (and indexing that to inflation, too).

The case for doing this is strong--but at this point, the prognosis for action is dim. The party leaders have not focused on this at all. Legislation on campaign finance reform, whatever the substance, is anathema to many Republicans. There is no leadership from the White House. And in any event, the policy process in Congress is so dysfunctional that creating a climate for doing anything, much less gaining momentum, is difficult to imagine. A conference to make the case for reform, co-sponsored by the Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21, Toner and Thomas, will be held Friday on Capitol Hill. I would recommend that all putative presidential candidates attend--and then put some muscle behind the Toner-Thomas plan.

In general, I am opposed to any public funding for political campaigns, including the four day commercials known as party conventions. However, if you are going to have a public financing system, modernizing it to match 21st century realities is not an option, it is a necessity.