Like nailing jelly to a tree
This term is normally used to describe complex problems in computer science that cannot be completely specified for one reason or another. Generally because you are trying to achieve something that cannot be described in terms of variables and parameters (because there’s always one more).
So it is with Campaign Finance Reform.
Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold created the McCain-Feingold Bi-partisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA) to diminish the influence of monied special-interests on candidates for federal office. This has been before the congress for a number of years, but was always defeated in one house or the other. The reason that it has been defeated is because nobody really wanted to be held to account for gutting the First Amendment to the Constitution. So each house relied on the other to defeat it. The defeat was then used by one party to demagogue the other as being in favor of allowing elections to be influenced by evil special interests.
This law — which specifically denies certain types of political speech within certain periods of time before an election — is unconsitutional on its face. The Supreme Court had already upheld in the past that money IS speech, and shot down dollar limits on so-called “soft money” contributions to the political parties. They allowed limits of “hard money” contributions directly to candidates, ostensibly to make it harder to bribe a candidate. I suppose that’s an acceptable restriction, but it’s pretty specific, so it’s not easy to violate the letter OR spirit of.
Back to the Congress. They surprised themselves. Both houses of Congress passed BCRA, and it went before President George W. Bush for ratification. I suppose they might have done this in the hopes that the President would stop them from destorying the Consitution, or perhaps they were counting on a veto, so they could accuse HIM of supporting special-interests.
The president, in direct violation of his oath of office, signed BCRA into law. It is now illegal to give money above a certain amount directly to the political parties, and nobody is allowed to run an ad that specifically mentions a candidate by name within sixty days of an election. Add to this that unlimited money for campaigning can only be raised by a special kind of organization called a 527 organization (named for the section of the Internal Revenue Code that allows them to operate). In addition, the law governing 527s (which has been in effect since the 1970s) says that an organization that has 527 status is not allowed to coordinate with the candidates and parties.
Of course, this law was challenged before the ink was dry on the president’s signature. It was fast-tracked to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court UPHELD THE LAW. The First Amendment to the Constitution has been officially stripped of meaning.
Now we have these 527 organizations gathering money like a pond gathers scum. And they are taking out some pretty devastating ads, many of them not entirely truthful. John Kerry is whining because one of the very few pro-Bush 527s has unleashed a devastating series of ads against him. Kerry blames Bush, and wants him to make the ads stop. Of course, the 527 laws don’t allow for that, so Kerry thinks he’s got a perfect hammer to bludgeon Bush with.
Bush counters with “Let’s get rid of all the 527s!”. Kerry is flummoxed. McCain is beside himself with joy. McCain was angry that all these 527s sprung up to get all that dirty money back in to politics after he went to all that trouble to make it illegal. Bush has told McCain that he will support LEGISLATIVE ACTION to silence the 527 organizations. Understand that.
The President of the United States of America has just pledged TO ELIMINATE PAID POLITICAL SPEECH.
Will a serious person please step forward and take the reigns of this country before we go over a cliff?