Cancel the Funeral--Campaign Reform Is Alive

Congress will get serious about changing the nation’s corrupting political campaign financing laws only when public outrage compels it to act, predicts Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a key advocate of reform. As the odor of scandal from last year’s campaign continues to spread, the need for reform becomes ever more urgent. But well-heeled supporters of the status quo--those who gain the most through the political access and influence they are able to buy--are digging in to resist change. An aroused public opinion can override that resistance, and finally there are some encouraging signs that public disgust is having an impact.

The spotlight has fallen mainly on how the Democratic National Committee and administration political operatives went about selling White House treats and otherwise raising money for President Clinton’s reelection campaign. But that is only a part of the problem at the core of the financing scandal.

Campaign financing law limits how much individuals can give to specific candidates. But the law does not limit contributions to political parties--”soft money”--that can be used for television ads, phone banks, mailers and the like, all of which indirectly support candidates’ election efforts. Big soft money contributors span the political spectrum and include the wealthy, unions, corporations and other special interests.

In recent weeks both liberal and conservative special interests have vigorously lobbied Congress to resist changing the financing law. They have clout. In the last election Republicans raised about $141 million in soft money, Democrats about $122 million.

But public anger with the status quo is also being felt. It has helped prompt a revolt within Republican senatorial ranks that will broaden the current investigation, which so far has been directed at the Democrats. Now, potential ethical wrongdoing by the GOP will also be scrutinized.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of senators, including more than half of the chamber’s Democrats, are signing on as co-sponsors of reform legislation introduced by McCain and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.). It’s far too early to predict that reform efforts will triumph. But earlier reports that reform was dead can at least be dismissed as premature.