Posted October 2, 2007 by Meredith McGehee

Reality Check for Gingrich

Despite the moans and groans of the far right and the political consultant class in Washington, the successes and benefits of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) continue to reveal themselves.  Opponents of BCRA claimed the law would cause the demise of political parties.  The reality is parties are flourishing, no longer dependent on an oligarchy of soft money donors.  Small donors are entering into the system in record numbers with easy access through the Internet and being pursued by savvy candidates.

No, BCRA hasn’t solved the all the problems with the current system.  Opponents’ claims notwithstanding, the Act’s purpose was NOT to “remove money from politics.”  Rather, BCRA was a triage bill, aimed at ending the soft money from labor unions, corporations and wealthy individuals that was flooding into the system and putting some reasonable limits on campaign ads that masqueraded as issue discussion.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has now announced that he has abandoned a possible run for White House.  What caused the former Speaker to take this reality check?  That his poll numbers are hopelessly negative?  That he is a ‘Johnny Come Lately’ into an already crowded political field?  That much of the big money has been tapped by other Republican hopefuls? 

 All of these are likely reasons, of course, but not the one that old Newt conjures up.  Instead, he lays blame for his demise on BCRA.  The charge is ludicrous on its face. 

 Gingrich claims that BCRA prevents him from running for President and running a 527 group at the same time.  So let’s look at that claim.  First, as Bob Bauer, a well-known campaign finance lawyer who is no fan of BCRA points out, “candidates in the exploratory phase can manage other enterprises” as long as the activities are kept separate from each other. 

 Second, putting aside Gingrich’s inability or unwillingness to manage both enterprises, let’s take a closer look at what a 527 organization is all about.  By definition in the tax code, entities organized under section 527 of the tax code are considered "political organizations," defined generally as a party, committee or association that is organized and operated primarily for the purpose of influencing the selection, nomination, election or appointment of any individual to any federal, state or local public office, or office in a political organization.  So I guess Gingrich is right on one count.  There would be questions raised about the appropriateness of his running for President while running a soft money organization whose purpose by definition is influencing elections. 

It isn’t BCRA that failed Mr. Gingrich, it’s his own history of personal and professional failings that did so.  By blaming BCRA, Mr. Gingrich reminds us of those failings once again.