John Kerry's position on 527s

527s/Campaign Finance Reform: Campaign finance reform was a serious issue in political contests prior to the 2002 passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. Since McCain-Feingold passed, neither presidential candidate is talking about campaign finance reform in general. The one issue that has presented itself in this election is the use of 527 political organizations and their role in the election. 527s are named for the tax code they fall under and are organizations that are able to raise money to advertise for or against a candidate without being held accountable under the McCain-Feingold act. The Federal Election Commission had the opportunity to force 527s to fall under the bill, but chose not to do so in the 2004 election.

John Kerry:

Description of candidate's position: Kerry does not condemn the 527 political organizations or political advertisements in general. However, Kerry supports and voted for the McCain-Feingold legislation.

Quotation from the candidate: The candidate is not discussing the issue of campaign finance reform or 527s.

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, explains that issue ads have the potential to persuade the public to support or oppose a particular issue. The 527s are essentially using issue ads to try to convince the public to either support or oppose a candidate based on a single issue, and thus, Jamieson would argue that the ads have the potential to have a significant effect on the electorate.

Negative: Larry Noble, former general for the Federal Election Commission and executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, argues that 527 political advertisements should be illegal. Specifically, he states that "I don't think they should be allowed to raise and spend this money. What's really happened is the Federal Election Commission, which should be monitoring this, has allowed these 527s to go unregulated when really the ones we're talking about should be considered political committees."

Comparison: George Bush wants to ban all 527 groups from advertising for either political candidate. Kerry, however, does not condemn the 527 advertisements nor is he willing to speak publicly about his overall position on 527s. Both Bush and Kerry support the McCain-Feingold legislation as it currently exists. Bush is willing to extend the legislation to 527s and Kerry does not take a position on it.

Sources: Jamieson, K. H. (2001). Everything you think you know about politics and why you're wrong. New York: Basic Books.

Link to Bush's 527 issue brief.