'527' groups' cash cuts GOP edge, study reports

'527' groups' cash cuts GOP edge, study reports
By Thomas B. Edsall
The Washington Post 9/26/03

WASHINGTON ?- The widely heralded fund-raising advantage enjoyed by Republicans could be significantly mitigated by the success of Democratic-leaning "527" committees, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity.

Known by the section of the tax code under which they fall, 527 committees can accept unlimited donations from corporations, unions and the rich ?- the kind of "soft money" federal candidates and the national parties have been barred from collecting under the 2002 McCain-Feingold bill.

The center's study, which covered the period from August 2000 to August 2003, found that money going to Democratic-leaning groups ?- such as unions, environmental and abortion-rights groups ?- was more than double that going to Republican-affiliated groups, $185 million to $81.6 million, a difference of $103.4 million.

In terms of "hard money" fund raising that remains legal for the parties and candidates, the Republican advantage is clear based on the results from the first six months of this year. In that period, the three major GOP committees ?- the Republican National, Senatorial and Congressional committees ?- raised $115 million, 2-½ times the $43.5 million raised by their Democratic counterparts. Hard money can be given only by individuals and is limited to $2,000 to federal candidates and $25,000 to a party.

These figures, along with the announced plans of the Bush re-election campaign to raise $160 million to $200 million, have provoked widespread fears among Democrats and liberals that Republicans will swamp the opposition with a tidal wave of cash financing television ads and voter registration, direct mail and Election Day get-out-the-vote efforts.

But if the Center for Public Integrity data are accurate, the $228 million advantage the GOP committees had over their Democratic counterparts in 2001-02 could be reduced by as much as $103.4 million, to $124.6 million. Democratic officials, however, said the report fails to take into account such Republican-oriented groups as the United Seniors Association, organized under section 501c of the tax code, which does not require disclosure of contributors.

Not surprisingly, the Republican National Committee has been tracking the 527 groups closely. An RNC study noted the announced plans of America Coming Together (ACT), a new group, to spend $75 million on voter mobilization, including a $10 million contribution from international financier George Soros.

In addition, the group cited estimates that an as-yet-to-be-formed committee under the auspices of former President Clinton aide Harold Ickes will spend $50 million on television and that the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will spend about $58 million, along with other substantial commitments from such groups as the NAACP, the Human Rights Campaign and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Steve Rosenthal, head of ACT, said the RNC ignores money raised by pro-GOP groups such as the National Rifle Association, Concerned Women for America, the Christian Coalition and the Business-Industry PAC.

Under McCain-Feingold, groups that were arms of the national parties and raised and spent soft-money contributions no longer can do so. But advocacy groups can continue to raise soft money.