Too Little Too Late
Chris Ward, is holding hearing on Wednesday on a package of campaign finance bills.
It makes you wonder if this is so important why is it just now being introduced when we are just days away from the House breaking for the summer until September. It’s about campaigning all right, but not campaign finance. Ward will use this to show the people back home during the campaign how he is fighting the corruption that has gripped Washington, D.C. Never mind they are republican scandals. As the Majority Floor Leader, Ward controls the floor agenda that the full House will vote on, so why are we just seeing this now?

After a recent report put him at the top of the list of state Legislators accepting free meals from lobbyists he needs to tidy up his image as a champion of reform after all the swag he has taken a big chunk of.

According to a story in the June 21 edition of the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus, Ward is billing the proposals as a comprehensive approach to campaign finance reform based on the McCain-Feingold law passed in 2002. The bills would apply that law, formally known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, to political activity at the state level in Michigan.
Among other things, the bills would cap individual contributions to a political party at $50,000; regulate 527s as regular political action committees, or PACs; require more frequent disclosure of campaign fundraising and spending; and require the Michigan Department of State to do random audits of nine campaign committees each election cycle.

But are we surprised that the bills, HB 6128-6131, favor the GOP.
Rich Robinson, of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said it won't solve everything that's wrong, but it would be a real move in the right direction."
One aspect of the proposals that made Robinson hesitate was the way he said they favor the Republican Party. The GOP relies on wealthy individuals, he explained, and even though some limits are put on contributions from such people, they could still give unlimited amounts to any number of PACs.

Here’s another problem with the bills, it says “A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a felony punishable, if the person is an individual, by imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of not more than $10,000.00.” What about one of the huge corporations like Enron or the other energy companies and pharmaceutical companies that funnels huge amounts of money to republicans? Where’s the penalty for them?
Cleary, this bill will go nowhere, so if we’re going to waste our time and hold hearings, lets explore some real reform. That may include public financing of campaigns to take the corrosive effect of money out of politics. Will it work? I don’t know, but why not talk about it?

The House Oversight, Elections and Ethics Committee hearings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays in Room 326, House Office Building, and they are open to the public.