Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review June 19, 2000 / 16 Sivan, 5760

Chris Matthews

Matthews
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Arianna Huffington
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Debbie Schlussel
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Squishy logic for soft money


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- TO WITNESS the corruption of American politics, check the latest Gore and Bush TV ads.

The Gore ad, which began airing last week, targets the country's most potent voting bloc: retirees.

"He's worked a lifetime," an empathetic voice intones, "but now he's at the mercy of the big drug companies. They're using money and lobbyists to stop progress in Washington. Al Gore is taking them on. Fighting for a Medicare prescription-drug benefit for seniors."

Now comes the high-energy voice of Vice President Al Gore; the candidate appears in a casual golf shirt.

"People can't afford these ridiculously high prices for prescription medicines. When their doctor prescribes medicine for their health and well-being, they ought to be able to take it."

To the millions of people watching that commercial, it's an ad for Al Gore, pure and simple. The ad gives Gore's pitch and gives him credit for making it. Here's a fellow who cares about retirees, knows about their problems and, if elected, will go about addressing them.

Not so, according to the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission. That ad was not for Gore's election to the presidency, it was promoting the cause of something called "party-building." As a result, the money used to pay for it can come from anywhere, including corporations, has no upper limit and does not get counted as a Gore expenditure.

In other words, it's an ad paid for with what some worldly wise insiders call "soft" or "sewer" money.

Republicans play the same dirty game.

Their ad:

"George Bush knows that to keep our commitment to seniors we must strengthen and improve Social Security now, for the retirement of the baby boom generation will push it near bankruptcy. He's proposing a bipartisan plan to strengthen and improve Social Security.

"The Bush plan guarantees every American at or near retirement every dollar of their benefits. No cuts in Social Security. You paid into it. It's your money and it will be there for you. And the Bush plan gives younger workers the choice to invest a small part of their Social Security in sound investments they control for higher returns."

That's the ad being aired this week by the Republican National Committee.

I asked its chairman, Jim Nicholson, if he would call it a Bush ad.

"That's an ad about an issue," he said, "It's an ad about an idea that Gov. Bush is strongly advocating."

He would not say it was a Bush ad. To do so would admit that he, the Republican National Committee and the Texas governor were engaging in a sham.

Edward Rendell, the Democratic national chairman, was more forthcoming. He acknowledges the Federal Election Commission is allowing a hoax.

"According to the FEC, that's a party-building ad," he said of the Gore push for government-financed prescription drugs for seniors.

"You're right," he finally obliged. "Both of these ads are Bush ads or Gore ads. We ought to get rid of this system."

Yes, we should.



JWR contributor Chris Matthews is the author of Hardball. and hosts a CNBC show of the same name. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

Up

06/15/00: Citizen Kane, 113 years later
06/12/00: Kennedy-Nixon redux?
06/07/00: Bush says 'I do' to reality
06/05/00: Clinton's odd silence on his achievements
06/02/00: Pelosi, a voice for human rights
05/30/00: Bubba's escape hatches
05/23/00: Who typifies leadership?
05/19/00: Bubba's legacy involves AIDS
05/16/00: Dubyah's outlook for 'playoffs' remains perilous
05/11/00: Giuliani's travels
05/09/00: A Yale degree, a Bob Jones education
05/03/00: Show of force!
05/01/00: Abortion polls don't reflect reality
04/28/00: Bill Russell and American racism
04/24/00: Vietnam 25 -- The good, bad and ugly
04/19/00: Nader's threat to Gore in California
04/17/00: Berkeley politician visits with Elian's father
04/14/00: Clinton and the Castro curse
04/11/00: Men who saved Elián from the sea
04/06/00: Caine should coach politicians
04/03/00: No. 2 spots: Woman-to-woman?
03/29/00: Gray for veep and Gore might coast to victory
03/27/00: The secret life of a CIA wife
03/22/00: 'We're suckers for underdogs'
03/20/00: Bush's California dream vs. reality
03/06/00: Scary Gore vs. hopeful Bush
03/06/00: McCain's appeal to 'Reagan Democrats'
03/01/00: John McCain fits a hero's profile
02/28/00: Grading the American presidents
02/25/00: Clinton remains No. 1 issue
02/23/00: Will Ross Perot aid POW McCain?
02/18/00: McCain faces fury of GOP establishment
02/17/00: Citizen Springer
02/14/00: McCainia and the frisky independents
02/07/00: A prime-time primary for California
02/02/00: Clinton's final campaign: Take the blame
01/31/00: Which GOPer is willing to pay for his positions?
01/27/00: John McCain's gay radar
01/25/00: This time, candidates get 'authenticity' check
01/18/00: AIDS dooms 1 in 4 in tiny Swaziland
01/13/00: Complacency might be the campaign key
01/10/00: A choice, not an echo
01/06/00: The role of a lifetime
01/03/00: Dangers in Gore's dirty war
12/30/99: Churchill's fighting words saved the century
12/28/99: Candidate Gore's separation anxiety
12/17/99: Catch 22: Leading candidates don't lead
12/17/99: New Democratic leader on the horizon
12/15/99: Is Hillary clueless?
12/08/99: Taking Buchananism to the streets
12/03/99: Why are we so obsessed with 'spin'?
12/01/99: Donald Trump, 'Sinatra of Steel'
11/29/99: Why AlGore will be our next president
11/23/99: After the fall
11/17/99: Our conveniently forgetful president
11/15/99: Next president: Male, WASP, self-selected
11/10/99: Backroom Bill
11/08/99: Please don't feed the 'pander bears'
11/03/99: Battle of the Bubba clones
11/01/99: Pat Buchanan, kamikaze candidate
10/27/99: The year of the woman... voter
10/25/99: The Curse of the Bubba
10/21/99: GOP gives Clinton his finest hour
10/18/99: Clinton's last hurrah
10/13/99: Rough seas for Capt. Ventura
10/11/99: Gore targets Bradley's strength
10/06/99: Bradley's got the right Rx
10/04/99: Buchanan, Churchill and Hitler
09/30/99: Who'll spin political gold in Golden State — Gore or Bradley?
09/27/99: Here's a millennial checklist for candidates
09/22/99: The biography battle
09/20/99: Buchanan's new book is a must-read
09/15/99: Don't rule out Beatty
09/13/99: The man with the sun on his face
09/08/99: W. vs. Jr. on dope and the draft
The FALN: Hillary's Willie Horton
08/26/99: Bill's guilt fuels Hill's race
08/25/99: The seemingly inexhaustible strength of America's free enterprise
08/23/99: GOP candidates are weak also-rans
08/16/99: Bubba on Bubba
08/11/99: Hillary's agonizing attempts to understand
08/09/99: With warm regards, Richard Nixon
08/04/99: Weicker: real third party is on the Left
08/02/99: Dubyah's last hangover
07/27/99: Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh; capitalism is gonna win

© 2000, NEA