Litigation

Analyst: ?Public Financing Isn?t Dead, Yet?

By Peter Hardin

Eliza Newlin Carney has written a provocative National Journal column entitled, “Who Killed Public Financing? Lack of support from taxpayers and presidential candidates made the Watergate reform an easy target.”

The long sub-headline pretty much explains her thesis, expounded in the week the House of Representatives voted to defund the presidential public-financing system. She also writes about chances that the Supreme Court may take a dim view of an Arizona public-financing statute.

The column, however, delivers an unexpected twist toward the end.  In the final paragraphs, veteran campaign finance analyst Carney suggests:

“Even with public financing gasping on the floor, reform advocates are surprisingly chipper.

“The reason? The open assault on campaign-finance regulations by the Supreme Court and GOP lawmakers has fueled grassroots enthusiasm for reforms?including public financing. Democrats on Capitol Hill have introduced legislation to both revamp the presidential system and extend public financing to congressional candidates. And even as some states have soured on public financing, others, such as New York, may be poised to embrace it.”

Carney paraphrases Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of the group Public Campaign, as saying that when everything looks worse for public financing, it’s easier to make a persuasive case for change. Carney concludes:

“So who killed public financing?

“The very people who may bring it back to life.”

Public Campaign is a partner of the Justice at Stake Campaign. You can learn more about public financing of judicial elections from Gavel Grab and from the JAS issues page on the topic.

A USA Today editorial was headlined, “Our view on elections: Public campaign finance in danger.” The newspaper published an opposing view by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., entitled, “No entitlement for candidates.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 02, 2011 (boomark / email).