This Article Printer-Friendly Version Subscribe to The Post By E. J. Dionne Jr. The bill that Arizona's McCain and his Democratic colleague Russ Feingold of Wisconsin began pushing on the Senate floor faces two very different kinds of opposition. And it is also argued that it goes too far in restricting those exercising their legitimate rights to affect the direction of the political system. The first argument is certainly half true.
Money always has a way of finding new tributaries into politics.
We know for certain that McCain-Feingold, all by itself, can't dam them all up. A more far-reaching reform would give candidates a chance to opt out of the money chase by offering them public financing in exchange for rejecting privately raised funds. But if McCain-Feingold is defeated, such reforms will become less rather than more likely. If this bill dies, the result is not likely to be a push for more radical reform. Its defeat would signal that even modest reform is impossible.