Campaign Legal Center-
Common Cause - Democracy 21
League of Women Voters - Public Citizen -
U.S.PIRG
February 15, 2008
Dear Senator Obama,
Our organizations are deeply
concerned about recent statements by your campaign spokesperson, Bill
Burton, regarding the commitment you made last year to participate in
the public financing system in the presidential general election if
nominated by your party and if your major party opponent also agrees to
use public financing in the general
election.
Our organizations include
the Campaign Legal
Center,
Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen
and U.S. PIRG.
The presidential public
financing system was established to protect the integrity of the
presidency and the interests of the American people. Every Democratic
and Republican nominee for president since 1976 has used the public
financing system for their general election campaigns.
According to Politico (February 14, 2008), Mr. Burton
stated that the commitment you made last year is an
“option,” not a pledge.
Mr. Burton further said,
“the only reason this is an option is because we pursued the
decision from the FEC. As the Clinton
campaign continues to remind you, Obama is not the
nominee, but this is a question we will address when he
is.”
According to the
New
YorkTimes (February 15,
2008), “‘We will address
that issue in the general election, when we’re the nominee,’
Mr. Burton said. ‘We’re just not entertaining hypotheticals
right now.’”
These statements by Mr. Burton
conflict with the commitment you made last year. There was nothing said
in your commitment about public financing in the general election being
an “option,” or “a question we will address” at
such time as you are the nominee.
Last year, on March 1,
2007, following a favorable FEC response to your advisory opinion
request, Mr. Burton, stated: “If Senator Obama is the nominee, he
will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to
preserve a publicly financed general election,” according to
the Associated
Press.
On the same day, Senator
McCain’s campaign issued a statement making the same kind of
commitment. The statement said, “Should John McCain win the
Republican nomination, we will agree to accept public financing in the
general election, if the Democratic nominee agrees to do the
same.”
Some nine months later you
repeated the commitment in response to a questionnaire.
On November 27, 2007, the Midwest
Democracy Network, an alliance of 20 civic and public interest groups
based in Illinois,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Ohio and
Wisconsin,
released the results of a questionnaire that they sent to all of the
presidential candidates.
The following question
was on the questionnaire:
If you are nominated for
President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will
you participate in presidential public financing
system?
You answered this question as
follows:
OBAMA: Yes. I have been a long-time advocate for public
financing of campaigns combined with free
television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. I introduced public
financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and am the only 2008
candidate to have sponsored Senator Russ
Feingold’s (D-WI) bill to reform the presidential public
financing system. In February 2007, I proposed a
novel way to preserve the strength of the public financing system in the
2008 election. My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on
a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general
election. My proposal followed announcements by some presidential candidates that
they would forgo public financing so they could
raise unlimited funds in the general election. The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has already pledged to
accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the
Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an
agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general
election.
This commitment was made
without any conditions and clearly stated, “If I am the Democratic
nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican
nominee to preserve a publicly financed general
election.”
During the course of the past
year, the media recognized the commitment you made.
For example, a
Washington Post
editorial on April 5,
2007 said:
One of the leading candidates in each party — Sen.
Barack Obama (D-Ill.), whose request to the
Federal Election Commission opened the door to this solution, and
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — has already agreed to
accept the public financing and live within the
general election limits if his opponent were to do the same.
It’s time for the other leading contenders
to make clear their intentions.
Similarly, a
New York Times
editorial on April 5,
2007 said:
[W]hy shouldn’t all the candidates join Senators
Obama and McCain in pledging to go halfway toward
sanity by embracing public finance limits in next year's general election, providing both final candidates
agree?
That would at least suggest a heartbeat still exists for
public financing among the money political
class.
On February 13, 2008, in response
to a question, Senator McCain’s campaign manager reaffirmed the
pledge Senator McCain made last year. According to a February 13, 2008 post by
David Broder on washingtonpost.com:
Asked whether McCain, a
longtime advocate of campaign finance reform, would accept public
financing of the general election campaign, with its spending
limits, Davis reiterated
McCain’s pledge to do so — if the Democratic candidate also
complied.
Given the uncertainty created
by your campaign spokesman in the last two days about the status of the
commitment you made, our organizations request that you reaffirm the
commitment you made last year.
Our organizations strongly urge
you to personally make clear to citizens that you remain committed to
using the public financing system in the presidential general election
if you are the Democratic nominee and if the Republican nominee also
agrees to use the public financing system in the general
election.
Campaign
Legal Center League of Women
Voters
Common
Cause
Public Citizen
Democracy
21
U.S. PIRG
# # #
|
