Iowa’s two U-S senators split their votes on the campaign finance reform bill that passed the Senate yesterday. Democrat Tom Harkin said it was far from perfect but voted for the McCain-Feingold bill, while republican Chuck Grassley opposed the measure, calling it unconstitutional. Grassley says the bill does not protect the right of individuals to participate in our democracy because it limits free speech.Grassley says the bill severely restricts the groups which average citizens join to express themselves: issue advocacy groups and political parties.The measure would ban unregulated and unlimited donations to political parties or “soft money,” would raise the contribution limits for individual parties, and would restrict the use of “issues ads” before elections. Grassley says the bill’s not all bad. He supports updating the limits on individual giving, but he says that good does not undo the harm in the bill.Meanwhile, Senator Harkin says the bill “is a good first step in restoring integrity to the electoral process.” Harkin says he’s “disappointed the bill does not place limits on total spending by candidates… As the cost of running for office continues to rise, the integrity of the campaign process will continue to wane.”
