Ken Doyle: [update: also here without a subscription]

No Explanation of Timing

The decision to renew the legal challenge to the BCRA soft-money limits on behalf of the Louisiana Republicans—but not the RNC—may reflect divisions within the party over how to proceed on campaign finance issues.

Asked why a new case was being filed now after the previous legal challenge was dropped, Bopp responded in an Aug. 4 e-mail to Bloomberg BNA: “You will have to ask the RNC why they wanted to dismiss their previous challenge.”

Last November, the RNC refused to provide an explanation when the previous case was abruptly dropped. However, the move came shortly after Republicans won electoral victories that gave them majority control of both the House and Senate and appeared to reflect a strategic shift away from such court challenges by at least some in the party.

Some observers suggested that Republican leaders decided after last November that they could compete and succeed in a campaign finance system dominated less by parties and more by unlimited contributions to super PACs and other organizations formally independent from the political parties. At the same time, Republicans also have continued to advocate for loosening campaign finance limits on the parties—if not through court challenges, then through legislative proposals.