Award for Most Hysterical Reaction to Omnibus Campaign Finance Rider Goes To…

Predictably, those in the campaign finance “reform” community are losing their collective mind over the campaign finance rider in the omnibus spending bill passed by the House yesterday. It has simply not been a few good years for the reformers with defeat after defeat and a President who has done nothing for the cause of campaign finance reform beyond scolding Justice Alito at the State of the Union about the impact of Citizens United.

While reactions have generally been pretty hyperbolic, the award has to go to Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21 who stated the rider was the “most destructive and corrupting campaign-finance provisions ever enacted by Congress.”

That is quite a statement! Reformers topic du jour has been so-called “dark money” infiltrating politics in the wake of recent court decisions. This measure by congress actually works to counter dark money as the two major party committees are perhaps the most regulated and transparent entities regulated by the FEC. As FEC Chairman Lee Goodman stated, “every dollar contributed to the parties is disclosed to the public.” These contributions will be no different 

RNLA will keep you posted as to the impact this provision will have, assuming it becomes law.