Roll Call
October 13, 1997

MCCONNELL, BEFORE A
"FINAL FUNERAL SERVICE" FOR REFORM, ANNOUNCES NEW WEAPON:

POLITICAL SPEECH THINK TANK

by Amy Keller

"The James Madison Center for Free Speech will provide legal representation in political speech cases. James Bopp, who represents National Right to Life, will be general counsel."

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and his off-the-hill allies in the successful fight to kill campaign finance reform last week announced the addition of a think tank to their arsenal.

McConnell, before excusing himself to attend "the final funeral service" for the McCain-Feingold campaign reform measure, told reporters that the new non-profit group will have as its "sole mission" the job of "defending political speech."

Speaking as the "honorary chairman" of the James Madison Center for Free Speech, McConnell said the DC-based organization will provide legal representation to individuals and groups whose political speech is threatened.

Attorney James Bopp - who already represents several conservative non-profits and PACs, such as the National Right to Life Committee and the Christian Coalition - will serve as general counsel for the organization.

Both McConnell and Bopp contend that proposed campaign finance reforms, such as the ban on soft money and increased regulation of "issue advocacy" ads proposed by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis), constitute an unconditional threat to the First Amendment.

Bopp said the need for the James Madison Center seemed to crystalize this year because of a combination of events ranging from controversy over McCain-Feingold to a slew of overbroad subpoenas directed at non-profit groups by Chairman Fred Thompson's (R-Tenn) Governmental Affairs Committee.

"The Thompson subpoenas were a slap in the face to a lot of these groups," Bopp said, adding that interest groups "saw what the world would be like under McCain-Feingold."

The James Madison Center will fund its activities through tax-exempt donations from grassroots and major donors; it does not plan to disclose them. As the group kicks off its initial fundraising, Bopp said he has a personal goal of raising $1 million in the first year.

While the American Civil Liberties Union has been vigorously involved in First Amendment cases like the one that Bopp is spearheading, Bopp said the new group was needed to supplement the ACLU's fundraising.

Often, Bopp explained, conservative and pro-life activists are reluctant to give money to groups like the ACLU for its First Amendment fights because of the group's more liberal stances on other issues.

Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington office, agreed. "I think it is going to be funded by people who would not fund the ACLU, so we're not in competition," she said, adding that she was disappointed that more liberal or progressive groups hadn't joined the fight against First Amendment infringements.

David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee - which has been leading a coalition of interest groups in the fight against McCain-Feingold - also hailed the opening of the James Madison Center.

"There are many countries in the world where citizens dare not voice their opinions or openly discuss or criticize the actions of government officials. The James Madison Center for Free Speech is dedicated to seeing that America does not become such a country," O'Steen said.

O'Steen and Christian Coalition president Don Hodel are both board members for the new group; Bopp said other board members will be announced in coming days.

McConnell declared that reform foes like himself had witnessed a "great victory" last week when the Senate failed to cut off debate over the controversial bipartisan reform bill.

But "that's not enough," McConnell insisted, railing against state legislatures that have attempted to regulate the activities of groups that engage in issue advocacy.

Issue ads, which are often political in nature and include references to specific candidates but are not subject to federal regulation because they do not use the magic works "vote for" or "vote against," reached unprecedented levels in 1996. Organized labor, for example, spent $35 million on issue ads targeting republican candidates across the country, but avoided any reporting requirements by refraining from using the magic words. Conservative groups, like the Coalition, an alliance of various business groups, conducted similar ad campaigns against the Democrats.

In the fallout from the 1996 election cycle, many lawmakers began to complain that it's no longer the candidates, but third parties, that are controlling the airwaves in their races. So issue ads became a prime target for reformers as they crafted new campaign finance measures in the 105^th Congress.

McConnell isn't the only republican coming to the defense of third parties in the hot debate over issue ads.

After House Republican leaders recently indicated that they might include tighter restrictions on issue advocacy in any potential leadership bill on campaign finance reform, several GOP lawmakers banned together to oppose such efforts.

On oct. 3, Republican Reps. Henry Hyde (Ill.), Charles Canady (Fla.), John Doolittle (Calif), and David McIntosh (Ind) sent a letter to House GOP leaders stating that they would "vigorously oppose on the House floor any legislation that would seek to establish government monitoring, regulation, or rationing of 'issue advocacy' communications."