Senate braces for campaign finance debate

Sponsors McCain, left, and Feingold

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate prepared to open two weeks of debate on campaign finance reform as Republicans downplayed talk of a split between the White House and Sen. John McCain.

The Senate is poised to kick off two weeks of debate Monday on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. Senators braced for what several said would be a lively debate that could lead to cutting off a lucrative pipeline for political funds.

McCain, R-Arizona, tried to refute any suggestion of conflict with President Bush, who has his own ideas for how to change campaign finance laws. McCain, the GOP's top advocate for campaign finance reform, was Bush's most formidable rival in last spring's primaries.

"It's not in our interest to set up a situation where the president would veto, and I look forward to working with him on this issue," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"There are certain principles that we are in agreement on, and so I want to work with him on it, and I think that that's the view of all of us," he said.

VIDEO McCain spoke with CNN about the issue Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Major Garrett says the White House fears the fight over campaign finance reform will be distracting Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Jonathan Karl says the fight over soft money is making foes out of friends Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles predicted there would be a compromise combining elements of McCain's plan with ideas put forth by Bush and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, both of whom have proposed limits rather than a comprehensive ban on soft money contributions.

"I can see a campaign finance bill that John McCain can be happy with and President Bush can be happy with," Nickles, R-Oklahoma, said on "Fox News Sunday."

McCain and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, want to ban all "soft money" contributions -- unlimited donations to political parties. Their legislation would also require greater disclosure and would restrict advertisements from outside groups.

Republicans generally oppose the measure, but it has had strong Democratic support in the past, although Sen. John Breaux, D-Lousiana, announced his opposition to the measure last week.

"We definitely have a majority in the Senate for McCain-Feingold," Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Connecticut, said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

"The question is, whether through tricks and pressure, that they're going to try to filibuster this to a defeat," Lieberman said. "I hope not. There's too much on the line for our democracy."

Bush last week sent his own proposals to Capitol Hill. While Bush would ban soft money contribution by corporations and unions, he opposes such a ban for individuals. And he has insisted that any reform bill mandate a choice for union members on whether their dues can be diverted to political candidates -- most often Democrats.

Democrats and labor leaders oppose that proposal, dubbed "paycheck protection."

Hagel has a third proposal, one that would place limits on soft-money contributions and would raise the cap on how much donors could contribute to candidates.

"It's going to be a free for all," Nickles said of the pending debate. "We don't often legislate like that, but we're going to be on the floor for two weeks. My guess is you'll see a hybrid come out."

Campaign finance reform bills have won House approval in prior years, but such legislation has died in the Senate, where it faces stiff GOP opposition. With the Senate split 50-50 this year, both sides agree, the measure stands its best chance ever of passing.

Soft money contributions have ballooned in recent years. While such donations are not supposed to help individual candidates, the money is often spent by parties in a way that does just that.

Feingold said it's not surprising then that many incumbent politicians, who benefit from the system, oppose the change.

"Look, when you're going to take $500 million out of the system in one cycle, it is going to cause some anxiety," Feingold said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Speaking on CNN, Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson -- one of the few Republicans to support the McCain-Feingold bill -- said change is necessary because the flow of money into the political system is getting bigger and bigger.

"I think more people are realizing the fundamental issue here," he said. "That is, we are going from a small-dollar system, where the average person can participate, to a huge-dollar system, where you're not a player anymore unless you're dealing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars increments."

Thompson called the political parties "nothing more than conduits for large amounts of money."

Opponents of the legislation say the McCain-Feingold bill would weaken the political parties and would undermine the ability of citizens to participate in the political process.

"I mean, fundamentally what he does is not take money out of politics," McConnell said. "He takes the parties out of politics by federalizing the two parties, taking away 35 to 40 percent of their budget and in effect diminishing their ability to do what they do best, which is to help challengers."

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Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona
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