McCain’s campaign reform

The Patriot Post

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) tangled with the regulation of free speech this week on the presidential campaign trail. McCain, as readers will recall, crafted the unconstitutional Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 as a means of getting undue money and influence out of politics. As we predicted, this ill-conceived legislation amounts to little more than incumbent protection. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America ran a TV ad campaign on the senator’s behalf in South Carolina, which triggered predictable (and much-deserved) cries of hypocrisy from all corners, including Rudy Giuliani’s campaign. McCain has asked the Foundation to stop running the South Carolina ads, despite the free exercise of speech involved and despite the benefit to his struggling campaign. After all, McCain can’t have any undue influence coming from “the shadows.” Somehow, this strikes us as poetic justice.