http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/op...00961&ei=1&en=
336b4c52fde64e60

July 11, 2003
Cleaning Up a Rigged Game

Across too many years of campaign abuse, the Federal Election Commission has
evolved into one of Washington's sicker political jokes: a watchdog agency
snoozing protectively at the feet of well-financed incumbents, rarely roused
except to fetch a new loophole in the law at the bidding of party masters.
Incumbents of both parties know how reliably toothless the F.E.C. has been
in acting against campaign abusers, yet how artful, too, in guiding the way
to such infamous deviations from the law as the "soft money" cornucopia that
let unions, corporations and fat cats ravage politics with unlimited funds.

For that and other outstanding subversions of public service, the F.E.C.
deserves extinction. That is exactly the proposal offered yesterday by the
same group of lawmakers who persevered in the seven-year struggle to end
political soft money. They would scrap the six-member commission and replace
it with three far more politically independent appointees empowered to start
aggressively enforcing the campaign laws.

Like a rigged card game, the F.E.C. was established by Congress with no
authority to find violations or impose penalties - campaign abuses can be
subjected only to a "conciliation" process long after malefactors have
played their hand. This sorry bureaucracy would be remedied with the new
Federal Election Administration proposed by Senators John McCain and Russell
Feingold and Congressmen Christopher Shays and Martin Meehan.

Having a trio of administrators would avoid the tie-vote deadlocks that
often make the F.E.C.'s three Republicans and three Democrats a study in
inaction. Allegations could be quickly referred to a panel of administrative
law judges, like those now dealing with environmental and security laws. The
judges would actually impose civil penalties and issue orders against an
abusive candidate. Rounding out the overdue weapons would be the power for
investigators to conduct random audits of campaigns.

The present Republican-led Congress will be in no rush to sign on as
co-sponsors of this needed next step in cleaning up the nation's
laissez-faire political arena. Still, the soft-money ban has shown that
persistence can deliver political rewards bigger than money.



Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

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