After two decades of talk on campaign finance laws, the U.S. Senate heads for a crucial debate next week on reforms that could hinge on how lawmakers define the problem. McCain and his partner Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., are proposing a ban on all soft money donations to the parties. And there is an appearance of it.
Nobody can deny that.
Even so, some key lawmakers, who have won the significant backing of the Bush White House, have a very different view of the problem. You know where it's coming from. You know who's giving it. You know where it's going. But his bill would keep another door open by allowing unlimited donations to state parties, long the conduits for soft money.