THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100017
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Sen. John Warner claims that rival Jim Miller engaged in an ``illegal scheme'' to offset ``crippling deficits'' from Miller's unsuccessful 1994 Senate bid.
Mixed in with the political hyperbole is an element of truth.
While Miller may have done nothing that has not been tried by other Senate candidates in other years, his actions show how easily the spirit of federal campaign-finance laws can be thwarted.
Statutes passed after Watergate set contribution limits of $1,000 per individual and $5,000 per political-action committee in federal elections. Corporate contributions were banned.
Ever since, candidates have complained about the rigidity of those rules and the difficulty of financing multimillion-dollar campaigns in $1,000 increments. Critics of the system say fund-raising strictures kept Jack Kemp, Dan Quayle, Bill Bennett and others out of the GOP presidential race this year.
What Miller did, soon after he lost the Republican Senate nomination against Oliver North in 1994, was to form a political-action committee to support GOP candidates for state and local office. As a committee formed under state law, the Commonwealth PAC was free to accept unlimited contributions from individuals, PACs and corporations.
This Miller did. The Commonwealth PAC received $25,000 from Koch Industries, an oil company headquartered in Kansas; $10,000 from Markel Corp., a Richmond insurance company; and $5,000 or more from several businessmen.
The $77,550 raised during the year Commonwealth PAC operated was used to support state GOP candidates. But precious little of the money, about 2 percent, went into direct contributions. Instead, the funds allowed Miller to make dozens of appearances on behalf of candidates and to offer them support staff and advice.
This allowed Miller to appear altruistic while reaping more tangible benefits. Victor Gresham, Miller's campaign manager in 1994 and again this year, had his $34,000 salary paid by the fund last year, for instance. A database of Miller contributors, owned by Miller's Senate committee, was sold to Miller's state committee for $19,800. The proceeds helped Miller whittle a campaign debt from $250,000 to $87,000.
Miller is far from alone in trying to work a difficult system to advantage. Last year, Bob Dole drew heat when the press disclosed that a conservative think tank he'd formed to further his political aspirations had accepted gifts from a Who's Who of corporate America. Nineteen individuals had given $100,000 each. Dole disbanded the Better America Foundation in the wake of the criticism.
The Commonwealth PAC ceased operation last fall. That's good. It and other state fund-raising committees that operate while candidates bridge the gap between federal elections should be watched with suspicion. Federal fund-raising laws are undeniably onerous, but the rules are the rules. The fact that Virginia's laws are much more lax shouldn't be treated as a back-door opportunity to circumvent federal requirements. by CNB