“These public spats we have are very, very healthy. It’s a healthy ugly,” said Don McGahn, a Republican lawyer by trade who by night tears up music venues as the lead guitarist in ’80s-style rock bands. “This is a public body, and you’re supposed to speak up and duke it out over what you believe is right. There should be no desire to find superficial compromise. When you do that, nobody wins, and you give people a false sense of security because such a decision can result in litigation.”
But these days, it’s rare that the fighting ends with a usable outcome for campaigns trying to operate within the scope of the law, which has been upended since last year by the Supreme Court’s decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, among others. The three Republicans and three Democrats have repeatedly deadlocked this year.
Earlier this month, for example, the panel split on an important advisory opinion decision affecting super PAC American Crossroads’ ability to use politicians in advertisements, leaving political groups with little guidance on a controversial issue sure to resurface in 2012.
FEC dysfunction not just politics, it's personal
via politico.com
