Obama opts out of public financing
Barack Obama is forgoing public financing so he can continue his record-shattering fund-raising, much of it from small donors online, and avoid the spending limits that come with public money.
The presumptive Democratic nominee's announcement to supporters this morning, confirming what had long been hinted, makes him the first presidential candidate to opt out of the public financing system since it was instituted during the 1970s Watergate reforms.
In the message to backers, Obama portrayed the move as avoiding a broken system for one that relies on a grassroots movement.
The decision will enable him to outraise Republican John McCain -- Obama had brought in more than $265 million by the end of April. But it opens him up to accusations of breaking a pledge he had made to use public financing.
McCain confirmed late this afternoon that he will take public financing for the general election and accused Obama of reneging on a pledge.
"He has completely reversed himself and gone back, not on his word to me, but the commitment he made to the American people," McCain told reporters.
In a November candidates questionnaire with the Midwest Democracy Network, Obama answered, "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."
While Obama claims about 1.5 million donors, more than 17 million taxpayers checked off $3 from their taxes in 2006 for public financing.
McCain criticized his rival, saying that Obama had "said he would stick to his word. He didn't."
"This election is about a lot of things. It's also about trust. It's about keeping your word," McCain told reporters while touring flood damage in Iowa today.
McCain's campaign also issued a statement slamming Obama as a hypocrite.
“Today, Barack Obama has revealed himself to be just another typical politician who will do and say whatever is most expedient for Barack Obama," communications director Jill Hazelbaker said in a statement.
“The true test of a candidate for President is whether he will stand on principle and keep his word to the American people. Barack Obama has failed that test today, and his reversal of his promise to participate in the public finance system undermines his call for a new type of politics.
“Barack Obama is now the first presidential candidate since Watergate to run a campaign entirely on private funds. This decision will have far-reaching and extraordinary consequences that will weaken and undermine the public financing system.”
The Obama campaign responded with a memo this afternoon arguing that McCain effectively opted out of public financing by using private money raised for the primaries after he became the presumptive nominee in the spring.
"Since that time, McCain has used that money, and he proposes to use it for the next three months, to run a fully private general election campaign in coordination with the RNC," the memo says. "He has raised money for his own campaign and the RNC for the general. He has spent this money, in coordination with the RNC, for a wide range of general election-related expenses. The expenditures have included those for media in a host of states—states in which the Republican nominating choice was made long ago. And unlike a publicly funded primary or general election candidate, McCain is free to spend whatever amount he can raise."
Obama made the announcement in a video sent via email. Here's the message, as provided by the campaign:
Hi, this is Barack Obama.
I have an important announcement and I wanted all of you – the people who built this movement from the bottom-up – to hear it first. We’ve made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election. This means we’ll be forgoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election.
It’s not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections. But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system. John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And we’ve already seen that he’s not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.
From the very beginning of this campaign, I have asked my supporters to avoid that kind of unregulated activity and join us in building a new kind of politics – and you have. Instead of forcing us to rely on millions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs, you’ve fueled this campaign with donations of $5, $10, $20, whatever you can afford. And because you did, we’ve built a grassroots movement of over 1.5 million Americans. We’ve won the Democratic nomination by relying on ordinary people coming together to achieve extraordinary things.
You’ve already changed the way campaigns are funded because you know that’s the only way we can truly change how Washington works. And that’s the path we will continue in this general election. I’m asking you to try to do something that’s never been done before. Declare our independence from a broken system, and run the type of campaign that reflects the grassroots values that have already changed our politics and brought us this far.
If we don’t stand together, the broken system we have now, a system where special interests drown out the voices of the American people will continue to erode our politics and prevent the possibility of real change. That’s why we must act. The stakes are higher than ever, and people are counting on us.
Every American who is desperate for a fair economy and affordable healthcare, who wants to bring our troops back from Iraq. Who hopes for a better education and future for his or her child, these people are relying on us. You and me. This is our moment and our country is depending on us. So join me, and declare your independence from this broken system and let’s build the first general election campaign that’s truly funded by the American people. With this decision this campaign is in your hands in a way that no campaign has ever been before. Now is the time to act. Thank you so much.
Apparently Mr. Obama has conveniently forgotten MoveOn.org and the other liberal groups that will be throwing millions of dollars into the campaign on his behalf...Yes, Mr. McCain is the bad guy with his "special interest" groups....
So "change" in this case means changing the playing field to raise an obscene amount of money and outspend his opponent every step of the way. He will now be solely backed by private donations totaling millions of dollars, you do not think he will be beholden to any of these donors if he is elected?!! I thought Senator Obama was for a more inclusive process and keeping money out of politics? This move is the exact opposite since he now will be able to spend basically an unlimited amount of money in running his campaign.
Why doesn't he impose a "winfall tax" on his own campaign fundraising and give that back directly to the American people?
The moment that Senator Obama was declared the presumptive nominee, Howard Dean ordered the DNC to stop accepting ANY money from ANY PACs, INCLUDING MOVEON.ORG. This was in order to keep in line with the Obama campaign's policy, which it had instituted FROM THE BEGINNING. In addition, the VAST MAJORITY of contributions to the Obama campaign have come in at the $5, $10, and $20 level... Obviously not special interest money. Finally, the Obama campaign has consistently asked all Democratic-leaning 527s NOT to engage in the types of dirty tricks and smear campaigns that no republical-leaning 527 can operate without.
On the other hand, McSame has consistently relied on PAC money to fund his campaign, and steadfastly REFUSED to denounced the SWIFT-BOATING (a verb meaning to repeat lies so much that ignorant people accept them as truth) of the republical 527s.
Obama's November 2007 statement said, "I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." This he HAS CONSITENTLY DONE. However, McSame and the republicals have REFUSED to accept ANY agreement which would prevent them from accepting PAC money or that would require them to stifle 527s.
Get a clue Erik G!
Too bad there's only a few more months to the election. Is this Obama's first reversal or the first one that he admitted? We're watching an inexperienced person learn as he takes on the job. I sure hope we don't have to see him learn on the job like this as US President. The US Presidency has a lot of power and responsibilities. Please help us avoid Obama's naivete. DON'T VOTE FOR OBAMA!
Oh please. Obama's contributors are more representative of the public than $80 million in government largess ever would be. And considering McCain's willingness to say whatever is convenient at any time, he should be careful saying things like "The true test of a candidate for President is whether he will stand on principle and keep his word to the American people." Talk about living in a glass house...
What a breath of fresh air. Government for and by the people...not the special interests.
Actually I don't think Obama is undermining public financing at all. He's doing it the right way, with small donations from literally millions of people. If this many people want to support the candidate, let them. That's why public financing is optional.
Anyone else that opts out would be criticized as a selfish elitist, but not the Obamamessiah.
Finally a Democrate will enough balls take on the Republican machine.
Obama once agains shows his true colors. He will do whatever is politically expedient for him and toss aside any earlier promises to the American public. He is not an agent of change.
Wake up fellow Democrats!! He is the same old same old smarmy politician. His lessons learned from the political cesspool of south side Chicago are serving him well.
McCain has a lot of nerve to criticize Obama on public financing — he tried to game the system in the primaries:
"Last year, when McCain's campaign was starved for cash, he applied to join the financing system to gain access to millions of dollars in federal matching money. He was also permitted to use his FEC certification to bypass the time-consuming process of gathering signatures to get his name on the ballot in several states, including Ohio.
By signing up for matching money, McCain agreed to adhere to strict state-by-state spending limits and an overall limit on spending of $54 million for the primary season, which lasts until the party's nominating convention in September. The general election has a separate public financing arrangement.
But after McCain won a series of early contests and the campaign found its financial footing, his lawyer wrote to the FEC requesting to back out of the program -- which is permitted for candidates who have not yet received any federal money and who have not used the promise of federal funding as collateral for borrowing money."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/21/AR2008022103141.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008022102994
I like this change from Obama maybe this is the start for the better and I still want to see the end to Parties Politics that is not working effectively for every individual people.There is too much infighting in Washington and not much outpouring of useful and important services and resources.I'm starting to think the reason they fight is to determined who's get the biggest piece.
Why are we pretending that the system isn't broken beyond repair, as Obama asserts?
The system began to break down in 2000, when Bush decided to give up federal matching funds during his campaign for the nomination. That allowed him to raise and spend as much money as he could to win the nomination -- putting his rivals at a distinct disadvantage. He raised almost $100 million, breaking all previous records.
In 2004, Democrats John F. Kerry and Howard Dean joined Bush in opting out of public financing for the primaries. Bush and Kerry, the two nominees, both swamped Bush's 2000 campaign spending record. Kerry raised almost $235 million, Bush $270 million.
Both, however, chose to accept more than $80 million in public funds for their general election campaigns, though Kerry gave serious consideration to opting out. Few experts believe that either nominee will remain within the public financing system in 2008.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/05/congress_again_takes_aim_at_ca.html
Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the Democrat has declined to waste taxpayer money, while the Republican suckles at the public teat?
Typical Liberal politician - Liar!
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