Oh-eight (R): Those FEC stories...
Posted: Friday, February 29, 2008 9:13 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
2008, Huckabee, McCain
HUCKABEE: NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger writes in National Journal: “Few people believe that Huckabee will be the Republican nominee for president, but he continues to win rave reviews for his oratory and his talent for connecting with voters. With the race all but sewn up, however, many political analysts are wondering why Huckabee is still in. Earlier, some thought that he was setting himself up to be John McCain's running mate, but that likelihood has faded as Huckabee continues to challenge the front-runner. Now the take is that he is priming himself for a career -- perhaps in television, but definitely in the limelight.”
MCCAIN: The Boston Globe front pages, “Last year, when his campaign was floundering and nearly broke, McCain applied for public financing. Candidates who opt into the system get portions of their privately raised donations matched with taxpayer dollars, but agree to abide by an overall campaign spending limit. This year, the cap for the presidential primaries is about $54 million. But earlier this month, after he became the GOP front-runner and donations began pouring into his campaign, McCain decided to withdraw from the public financing system, even though he had not yet received any public money and his campaign has already spent nearly $50 million. Staying in the system would be crippling. His campaign would not be able to pay for ads, mailings, polls, or travel until September, when the primary campaign officially ends with the party convention.”
“Critics pounced on the announcement, saying it was too late for McCain to back out. And David Mason, the Republican chairman of the FEC, told the candidate that only the commission can decide whether McCain can be released from the federal funding system. But the commission is unable to vote because an impasse in Congress has left it with too few members for a quorum. As a result, McCain is in a bind. His campaign says that he has a right to declare himself out of the system without an FEC ruling and that he will feel free to spend more than the cap allows in coming months. But the dispute has cast a cloud over the self-styled election-finance reformer.”
And the AP has this story: “Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign told federal regulators Monday that he does not need their approval to withdraw from the public finance system for the primaries. The campaign, in a letter to Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason, also said McCain did not encumber his potential share of public matching funds as collateral for a crucial $4 million loan he obtained late last year.”
Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill -- an Obama supporter -- introduced a bill that would get rid of any ambiguity about McCain's citizenship status at birth. The legislation would state that any child born to parents serving abroad for the U.S. military would be considered "natural born citizens."
