Inside the Campaign Finance Battle: Court Testimony on the New Reforms

Parties Support Members Who Fund-Raise

Parties Support Members Who Fund-Raise Dale Bumpers Dale Bumpers was a U.S. senator from Arkansas from 1975 to 1999. Prior to that, he was the governor of Arkansas. Bumpers testified for the defense that members of Congress expect party money they raise to be spent on their own reelection campaigns, thereby tying “nonfederal” donations to specific federal elections. Members who raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) expect some of the money to come directly back to them. Part of this unwritten but not unspoken rule is that if you do not raise a certain amount of money for the DSCC, you are not going to get any back. The DSCC does not give a candidate the maximum allowed unless he or she has raised at least a certain amount for the DSCC. The last time I ran, I remember that the DSCC promised to give every candidate a minimal amount of money regardless of whether he or she did any fund-raising for the DSCC. To get more than the minimum, however, you had to raise money for the DSCC. For example, if I had helped the DSCC raise the maximum amount it could legally expend on my behalf, I certainly would have expected the maximum to come back to me. For members, there would not be any real difference if the funds they solicited were for themselves, for the Democratic National Committee, or the DSCC, or if they were hard- or soft-money donations. Members and donors understand that donations to the party committees help members. Soft money gives big corporations and the very wealthy an inordinate advantage over others in the legislative process. If these corporations or individuals have given $100,000 to either or both parties, their chances of securing a change in legislation in Congress is exponentially increased. Often, donors seek legislative changes so that they or their business can reap large financial gains. 328 08 1583-8 part3c 3/25/03 12:02 PM Page 328 ...