“Do Commissioners Weintraub and Ravel Want the FEC to Fail?”

Brad Smith:

Ann Ravel, the Democratic Chair of the Federal Election Commission, made headlines early this month when she told the New York Times that her agency was “worse than dysfunctional” and that “the likelihood of the [federal campaign finance] laws being enforced is slim.” Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub chimed in “the few rules that are left, people feel free to ignore.” Such statements are, of course, catnip to the so-called “reform” community—groups that want more regulation of political speech—and to news reporters covering “money in politics.”

All of this is, not to put too fine a point on it, patently absurd, but one must presume it serves a purpose for the Commissioners. The question is, what purpose?

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