It is time to recognize that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), otherwise known as McCain-Feingold, was a failure.
Last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, it was accused of opening up the floodgates to a deluge of spending by corporations. But the “sky is falling” hysteria over that ruling obscures the real culprit.
Spending by independent groups, many believed to be funded by corporate donors, did not start with Citizens United. The growth in the number of these organizations, as well as their spending, began even before McCain-Feingold, and greatly accelerated after its passage.
Not only did McCain-Feingold spawn the rapid rise in activity by outside groups, but it sparked many legal challenges to once-settled campaign finance law.
Is Citizen's United Really to Blame for the Spending? What about McCain-Feingold?
