Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Can We Say "Vernal" On the Air?

Wednesday, March 21, 2001

Happy Spring. The Vernal Equinox occurred yesterday marking the end of Winter. Over the next week in Your Nation's Capital there will be two days in the 50's; two days in the 60's; and three days with a high only in the 40's. Hello? Weather Channel? I ordered the global warming. When can I be expecting delivery on that?

The campaign finance reform debate, which has the Eastern news media bathed in projectile sweat, got underway this week. It is interesting that the first amendment which was adopted RAISED contribution limits.

The Domenici amendment allows candidates for Federal office who are running against multi-millionaires to accept more money, in higher amounts than candidates who are running against just regular rich people.

Among those who voted against this bill were Maria Cantwell (dot.com multi-millionaire), Ted Kennedy (bootlegging multi-millionaire) and Jay Rockefeller (pre-OPEC oil monopoly multi-millionaire).

Jon Corzine of New Jersey who spent $71 million of his own money to win his Senate seat last year voted for the bill. What does he care? He would have written a $100 million check if that's what it took.

If the two week debate continues this way, the McCain-Feingold bill will, in fact, do away with soft money. HARD money limits will be so high, no one will need it.

Here's an approach which might interest them: If Senators give us accelerated tax reductions, we will all have more money to donate to their campaigns. See how this all works out?

I listened to Senator after Senator doing their Colonel Kurtz act, writhing and moaning on the Senate floor about having to raise money; how they need to shower after making fund-raising phone calls; how all they do all day every day is raise money, raise money, raise money. Oh, the horror.

I have a suggestion for any Senator who finds this too difficult: Don't run again. You'll never have to raise another dime.

And you can give up your taxpayer supported staff, your taxpayer supported office space, your taxpayer supported office equipment, your taxpayer supported postage and supplies; and your taxpayer supported overseas travel.

You can also give up being fawned over by lobbyists, give up being swooned over by constituents, and give up being ego-boosted by television talk show bookers.

You can drive your own car, book your own travel, balance your own checkbook, and actually work five days a week.

United States Senators take the business of being a Senator very, very seriously. If they thought they could get away with it, they would wear togas.

On Fox's "The Edge" last night, Lanny Davis and I debated the notion of former President Clinton getting an award for peace from the Cardozo School of law. The issue was not whether he should have gotten a peace award, but whether it was appropriate for a law school to present an award to a man whose license to practice law has been suspended for five years for misconduct.

Meanwhile President Bush was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and telling him the U.S. "will not try to force peace" in the Middle East. This is a clear departure from the Clinton policy of demanding the two sides reach a settlement.

Connecticut Congressman Chris Shays says the Clinton approach violated a core principal of mediation: Never make one party go out on a limb if the other party is holding a saw.

John Diamond of the Chicago Tribune writing about President Bush's visit to the CIA headquarters yesterday:

"Behind Bush, engraved on the marble wall, were the 77 stars denoting the CIA agents who have died in the line of duty over the past half century. Below, in a glass case, is a book with the honor roll, which includes many blank spaces denoting those whose identity, even today, cannot be divulged.
"Bush was greeted by loud and sustained applause by employees of an agency that seldom gets credit for its accomplishments, because they remain secret, but often sees its errors aired out in public."

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