NPR: McCain Returns $3 Million in Checks for General Election

McCain Returns $3 Million in Checks for General Election

In another sign that Sen. John McCain is moving towards public financing of his presidential bid, his campaign has returned $3 million in checks to contributors who had donated money for the general election in the fall.

The Boston Globe reports that the McCain campaign is now asking contributors "to write new checks to a special fund created to help the Arizona senator pay legal and accounting expenses related to compliance with the public funding system."

"The move is largely procedural, and McCain's campaign said yesterday that it has not yet decided whether to accept public funding or to raise money on its own for the November presidential election. But the decision to return checks - which was made as the Democratic candidates announced raising $60 million combined in March, nearly as much as McCain had raised for the entire campaign through February - indicates that McCain is laying the groundwork for doing so."

"Senator McCain has made it clear that he expects to participate in the general election public financing system, and he hopes the Democratic nominee will do so as well," Brian Rogers, McCain spokesman, said in a statement. "The campaign reserves the right to change course, but these developments reflect our current plans."

This year, a candidate who accepts the terms would be limited to about $84 million in spending.

But Peter Overby, NPR's expert on campaign finances, tells the News Blog that McCain faces a problem with the Federal Election Commission. The way public financing works is that the candidate will receive that $84 million check from the FEC on the last day of the candidate's convention. But before than happens, it must be voted on and approved by the FEC board. And right now, there are not enough members for a quorum.

1:30 PM ET | 04- 4-2008 | permalink

Comments

And why children isn't their a quorum at the FEC? Why it's none other than the "messiah" himself. Mr "new style" of politics. LOL.

http://www.campaignfreedom.org/blog/id.520/blog_detail.asp
"Democratic Senator Barack Obama, whose hold prevents the four nominees from being confirmed last fall"

Sent by deek | 2:00 PM ET | 04-04-2008

deek, surely you're not a Republican worried about fairness and legality in presidential politics? That would be just too funny.

Sent by Rusty Bienvenue | 3:10 PM ET | 04-04-2008

Deek,

Whether or not the suggestion of individual lobby members being the backbone of Obama's funds is correct, nevertheless, the eagerness of these individuals to make a statement with their support for this candidate by going out of their comfort zone 'tit for tat' lobby-pac based politics is an incredible feat, especially in the amounts we have seen him raise.

It amounts to show you that increasingly the Democrat base, and its exchequers are lining up behind a man and his movement. The GOP and its infrastructure is still undergoing growing pains at this time.

Think Evangelical, Reagan-Era, Warhawks, Independent/Centrists, Libertarians and yes even Muckracker factions within the GOP that have yet to fully accept him.

Can he do it. I'm sure he can, but it's gonna take time, and time is well...

you know.

Cheers.

Sent by platonicform | 3:41 PM ET | 04-04-2008

re: appropriate levels of information

i hope mcclatchy newspapers counts as much as the highly partisan site CCP when getting the facts on the FEC appointments. seems mr. von Spakovsky was about as popular a manager at the DOJ as mr. john(let's lose 9 stories of the UN)bolton at state -- and for similar reasons.

noted mcclatchy:
n a post-hearing letter sent by seven senior former DOJ empolyees to California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the former employees took issue with von Spakovsky's testimony that he was not influential or in charge of the Voting Section, and his claim he was a middle manager in the Civil Rights Division who didn't make policy or personnel decisions. The employees stated in the letter that von Spakovsky acted as the "de facto voting section chief" from early 2003 until late 2005, spending most of his time on voting issues and furthering "partisan political interests." The letter also said von Spakovsky stripped the voting rights section chief of his authority to open investigations of discrimination without his superiors' approval. The letter stated: "We have never seen a political appointee exercise this level of control over the day-to-day operations of the voting section." (greg gordon, mcclatchy)

so, adults, that`s the real story and not the fairy tale for children offered by the CPP.

as with SCHIP, as with FISA immunity, it is an intransigence on the side of the administration born out of a concern for ideological "purity" that accounts for the stalemate and not the respective issue at hand.

Sent by tim in exile | 6:27 PM ET | 04-04-2008

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