Washington — With a blend of street theater and speechmaking, the Senate raised the curtain Monday on freewheeling debate over legislation to limit the role of money in politics. "It's time to end business as usual," said Sen. John McCain as the bill's supporters prevailed in the first show of strength.
"If people think money in politics is so pernicious, they should change the First Amendment" and its guarantee of free speech, countered Sen. Mitch McConnell, McCain's foe throughout long years of political sparring over the issue.
McCain, R-Ariz., and his allies prevailed at day's end in the first skirmish, narrowly turning back an amendment to raise the limits on donations to candidates facing wealthy, self-funding rivals. The vote was 51-48, and came after unusually intense public lobbying in the well of the Senate that persuaded three Democrats to switch their votes.
The debate marked the sixth time since 1995 that McCain, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and other lawmakers have pushed a campaign finance measure to the Senate floor. Two weeks were allotted for debate, a departure from previous years when Republican leaders set out to kill versions of the bill as quickly as possible.
There was agreement on all sides that predictions on the outcome were futile. "I think it would be easier to predict who's going to win the NCAA (basketball) tournament," said McConnell.
The legislation would ban so-called soft money, the loosely regulated, unlimited donations that unions, corporations and individuals make to the political parties. It also would place restrictions on certain types of political advertising broadcast within 60 days of an election or 30 days of a primary.
Together, the two parties raised more than $480 million in soft money in the last two-year election cycle. Separately, candidates of both parties were bombarded with attack ads financed by outside groups, commercials that escaped disclosure because they did not expressly advocate the election or defeat of any individual politician.
A rival measure, advanced by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and encouraged by the White House, would limit soft money donations but not ban them. It also would raise the limits, unchanged since 1975, on donations that individuals may make to candidates.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., a supporter of past filibusters against versions of the bill, told reporters that if anything passes the Senate, "it will be an amalgam of those two bills and other ideas that are pending out there."
The amendment relating to millionaires was offered by Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M. who said he wanted to "begin to level the playing field" for candidates up against rivals who can pour millions into their own races. The measure would benefit opponents of candidates who spend at least $1 million of their own money on their campaigns.
Lawmakers on both sides of the McCain-Feingold legislation said they supported the concept, and an attempt to work out a compromise was in progress as the Senate adjourned for the night.
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