Obama opts out of public financing

This morning, Barack Obama sent this video an email to supporters explaining his decision to opt out of the public financing system for presidential elections.



You can get some immediate reaction from Jonathan Singer here and from Jerome Armstrong here.  Marc Ambinder gives us McCain’s reaction and has some background info from the Obama campaign on their reasoning behind the decision.

Last fall, Obama told Common Cause that he would participate in the system by aggressively pursuing a so-called “fundraising truce” with the Republican nominee.  But as Ambinder noted in his background statements, McCain and his campaign didn’t seem to want to participate.

My thoughts?  I think this is a good decision, especially after witnessing what happened in 2004 by the Republican special interests and 527s.  The problem itself isn’t money in politics but big money in politics…and the fact that there is a lack of regulation in certain arenas and too much regulation in others.  Obama has raised millions of dollars from millions of small-dollar donors.  And he’s publicly asked and demanded that 527s not support him but instead asked for those individuals to directly support his campaign or the Democratic National Committee.  McCain is doing nothing to keep lobbyists and big money from trying to influence the system even though he says he’s committed to a system of reform and clean elections.  McCain says one thing and does another (tacitly, at least, because he allows it to happen).

You can find the full text of Obama’s remarks below the fold.

Hi, this is Barack Obama.

I have an important announcement and I wanted all of you – the people who built this movement from the bottom-up – to hear it first. We’ve made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election. This means we’ll be forgoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election.

It’s not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections. But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system. John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And we’ve already seen that he’s not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.

From the very beginning of this campaign, I have asked my supporters to avoid that kind of unregulated activity and join us in building a new kind of politics – and you have. Instead of forcing us to rely on millions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs, you’ve fueled this campaign with donations of $5, $10, $20, whatever you can afford. And because you did, we’ve built a grassroots movement of over 1.5 million Americans. We’ve won the Democratic nomination by relying on ordinary people coming together to achieve extraordinary things.

You’ve already changed the way campaigns are funded because you know that’s the only way we can truly change how Washington works. And that’s the path we will continue in this general election. I’m asking you to try to do something that’s never been done before. Declare our independence from a broken system, and run the type of campaign that reflects the grassroots values that have already changed our politics and brought us this far.

If we don’t stand together, the broken system we have now, a system where special interests drown out the voices of the American people will continue to erode our politics and prevent the possibility of real change. That’s why we must act. The stakes are higher than ever, and people are counting on us.

Every American who is desperate for a fair economy and affordable healthcare, who wants to bring our troops back from Iraq. Who hopes for a better education and future for his or her child, these people are relying on us. You and me. This is our moment and our country is depending on us. So join me, and declare your independence from this broken system and let’s build the first general election campaign that’s truly funded by the American people. With this decision this campaign is in your hands in a way that no campaign has ever been before. Now is the time to act. Thank you so much.

About the Author(s)

Chris Woods

  • only an idiot would have accepted public financing

    in Obama’s situation. They will be able to raise much more and be in control of how it is spent.

    In 2004 several of the 527 groups duplicated GOTV activities with the same group of voters. They couldn’t coordinate with the Kerry campaign, and the money was not well spent.

    I didn’t think the pro-Edwards 527 group was very effective in Iowa either with its direct-mail and tv/radio ads. It would have been better for the Edwards campaign to have been in control of how the money was used.

  • Im glad he didnt

    He saved the Tax payers 84 million dollars!

    While the “Conservative candidate” is costing America as much!

    Kudos Obama!

  • spending limits

    The real reason that Obama doesn’t want to take public funding is because he doesn’t want to take the spending limits that come with it. Obama is a fundraising genius, there is no doubt about that. He gets most of his money from small donors…so he can honestly say that big money isn’t influencing his campaign, which is also good. However, I just wish that he hadn’t promised to take public funds–because now he is going back on that promise. The reason public funding was set up was because of Watergate, and overall I think it has been a good idea. I hope Obama’s not accepting funding doesn’t ruin the system.

    • the system has been ruined for a long time

      I believe the best path forward would be a voluntary public financing system comparable to what Maine and Arizona have instituted. Candidates would be able to opt out, as Obama has done, but it would level the playing field for candidates who can’t necessarily raise as much money.

      Markos has floated an interesting idea in the past of reducing the maximum contribution from $2,300 to $100. That would really reward candidates who can attract the largest number of donors.

  • Stop trading access for big money

    You can’t change Washington without eliminating the influence of the special interests.  John McCain received over $650,000 from federal lobbyists and over $700,000 from executives in the oil & gas industry.   The McCain campaign has received nearly $1,000,000 from political action committees (PACs).  Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has refused to accept contributions from special interest lobbyists and PACs since the beginning of the campaign.

    Nearly 50% of John McCain’s donors contributed $2,300 or more to his presidential campaign in comparison to less than 30% of Barack Obama’s donors.  Nearly 50% of Barack Obama’s donors contributed $200 or less in comparison to less than 25% of John McCain’s.

    When it comes to the Washington power game, we need to stop trading access for big money.  If you defend the system that defeats change, you can’t be the person who will, in fact, bring change.

  • John McCain should reject contributions from lobbyists

    We can’t change Washington without eliminating the influence of the special interests. Lobbyists are people who are paid specifically to turn money into access and to disproportionately influence our elected officials in Congress.

    Lobbyists manipulate our elected officials and, in some cases, write laws. Lobbyist money is equivalent to institutionalized corruption.

    John McCain should reject contributions from lobbyists and political action committees.

    We have lost what our forefathers fought so gallantly for. We no longer have government by the people and for the people.

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