A wing of the progressive reform movement, frustrated with other strategies, is turning to the carrot and the stick.  It program is to use rewards or punishments to exact pledges or other commitments from candidates and officeholders.  It will dangle the prospect of financial support, wield the threat of denied campaign funding, and maybe mete out punishment for resistance by giving money to the opposition.  All of this is described by Derek Willis in a recent New York Times Upshot piece that notes what is long been known – – that voters do not rank campaign finance regulation high among their priorities.  Unable to rely on public opinion or pressure, these reform advocates look to cut a deal with current or prospective legislators, to make them an offer they cannot refuse.

The FEC last week approved a Proposed Petition for Rulemaking that seeks agency action in various ways to clarify and strengthen public disclosure requirements and expand, as authorized by Congress, the Administrative Fines Program.

The attorneys filing the Petition represent varied and bi-partisan professional backgrounds and experiences. Their point overall is that, while there are obviously major differences separating the Commissioners on a number of issues, the FEC can take effective action on administrative matters of importance over which there should be little disagreement. One point of departure is bringing order, clarity and consistency to its reporting form and guidance. This is a disclosure program around which the entire “regulated community” can rally, with clear benefits to the public.

Larry Lessig and Brad Smith remain at odds over the complaint Professor Smith’s organization, the Center for Competitive Politics, filed against Mayday PAC for violating the disclaimer rules. While not using precisely this word, Lessig believes that the CCP action was petty.  The problem, he says, was a breakdown in approval procedures and vendor performance, and no one was harmed.  Smith has no use for the excuse and he says that an organization dedicated to regulating political activity ought to be held to account for violating the regulations it is dedicated to promoting.

More balance in the public and press discussion of campaign finance issues would be desirable. This last week the FEC held a hearing, and whatever press coverage came out of it was largely devoted to belittling it.  And then there was more of the same:

It seem unfair that just holding a hearing subjects the FEC to criticism and ridicule. The agency was acted entirely reasonably in inviting views on what it might do, if anything, in response to the McCutcheon case.  So what followed was predictable: the usual strong divisions were expressed and anyone hoping for a clear picture of the problems of campaign finance and how to address them was bound to be disappointed.  The FEC is not the culprit here: it only hosted the discussion and is not responsible for its content. It was a hearing.