WashPost: The Disclose Act isn’t campaign finance reform

Letter to the Editor on Disclose Act by David N. Bossie

E.J. Dionne Jr.’s Sept. 13 op-ed column, “The price of independence,” called for passage of the Disclose Act, a bill that would provide little transparency or tangible benefits to the American public, at the cost of their First Amendment rights. The Disclose Act is not about meaningful reform. In drafting the bill, the Democratic Party’s leadership played politics with the First Amendment by providing unfair carve-outs to special-interest groups that could have marshaled support against incumbent Democrats. As the Supreme Court noted in Citizens United v. FEC, the “FEC has adopted 568 pages of regulations, 1,278 pages of explanations and justifications for those regulations, and 1,771 advisory opinions since 1975.” It is nearly impossible to navigate this draconian system without the aid of an attorney. The Disclose Act would only add to this problem. Mr. Dionne should be calling for a meaningful and nonpartisan review of our nation’s campaign finance rules and regulations rather than advocating for legislation that was cobbled together to protect vulnerable incumbents.

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