An editorial in the New York Sun observes how many of those who called for campaign finance regulations are now changing their tune:
Take a look at what the liberal groups said back before the law was passed. “Make McCain-Feingold the law of the land,” MoveOn.org said. The Sierra Club supported the McCain-Feingold law, calling it “a strong first step toward real reform” and “getting big money out of politics by closing loopholes in current campaign-finance laws.” The president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Kate Michelman, told the Boston Globe, “We think some reform is needed.There is too much money being spent in campaigns.” Reform Judaism hailed the law as “a historic step today toward healing a systemic sickness in our democracy” and said the law will “go a long way toward abating the pernicious influence of money in our electoral system.”
Here’s what they say now, in the FEC testimony. The MoveOn.org Voter Fund now says, “we are concerned about the potentially devastating impact of the FEC Proposal on all tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that engage in public policy advocacy and/or voter participation programs.” The Sierra Club and Naral now say, “The proposed rules would seriously impair vigorous free speech and advocacy, as well as voter participation now and in the future. They would double, triple, or even quadruple the number of citizen organizations whose activities are subject to pervasive regulation by the Commission.” Reform Judaism now says “we are especially concerned that this proposal would silence the prophetic voice of religion in American Society.”
Of course, they still think they’re being consistent, because they just want to muzzle the speech of the “big” and the “powerful,” not themselves, the “underdogs.” Altruism in action once again.