BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A court battle over federal campaign spending laws has the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Ohio Republican Party on opposite sides of the fence.
But what makes the lawsuit, pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., even more odd is that the Ohio Democratic Party is lined up with the RNC.
"Even Republicans do the right thing once in a while," said Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Leland.
At issue is the Federal Election Commission (FEC) requirement that political parties pay for their "issue ads" -- which usually target an opposition congressional candidate -- with a certain percentage of "hard money" -- donations that must be reported and are subject to contribution limits.
But advocacy groups, such as the AFL-CIO, the National Rifle Association, and hundreds of other groups on the political left and right, can, under federal rules, fund their "issue ads" entirely with "soft money" -- unlimited donations from any source.
Last week, the RNC asked for an injunction that would allow it to pay for issue ads entirely with "soft money." The court has yet to decide the RNC's request.
The Ohio Democratic Party wants the same change and joined the RNC in the lawsuit, but the Ohio Republican Party wants the system to stay just the way it is.
"This is going to be very bad for us if the RNC wins this case," said Ohio GOP chairman Bob Bennett.
The Ohio GOP, Mr. Bennett said, has a "unique problem." If the injunction is granted, labor unions in Ohio "will start pouring millions into the Ohio Democratic Party, and there won't be anything we can do about it."
"There's no way we can compete," Mr. Bennett said. "People think this is the big money party, but we don't have anybody out there waiting to give us millions of dollars."
Under current FEC rules, if a political party wants to launch a $100,000 "issue ad" campaign aimed at an opposition congressional candidate, $22,000 of that must be hard money.
"It's called hard money because it's hard to raise," said Mr. Leland. "It takes a long time to raise. You have to go out and get hundreds, maybe thousands of individuals to contribute.
"In the meantime, some independent group is spending $100,000 in soft money against your candidate that they can spend anytime, anywhere," Mr. Leland said. "We just want a level playing field." Mr. Leland said he would like all soft money in politics banned, as the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill now bottled up in Congress would do.
"But until then, we just want everybody to play by the same rules," Mr. Leland said.
Mr. Leland said Mr. Bennett's fears that Ohio labor unions will pourmillions in soft money into Ohio Democratic Party coffers is "nonsense."
"Why would they need to give money to me?" Mr. Leland said. "The way the rules are now, the AFL-CIO can do whatever it wants with its money."
Two years ago, the AFL-CIO spent about $35 million nationwide in a soft-money campaign that targeted Republican congressmen, including U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati. This year, the labor organization plans a $28 million advertising and organizing campaign in the congressional elections.
Mr. Bennett said he is convinced that Ohio labor unions will move their resources into the Democratic party if the rules are changed.
The Ohio GOP chairman said he has told RNC chairman Jim Nicholson that the Ohio party cannot support the RNC in this lawsuit.
"You've got party organizations in 50 states, and each one of them operates under different circumstances," Mr. Bennett said. "We just happen to be in a situation in Ohio where, if the rules are changed, we'll get hammered."
The RNC chairman, Mr. Bennett said, "understands where we're coming from. We don't always have to agree on everything."
