Preibus Vows Court Challenge to Contribution Limits

On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Tuesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus discussed his intentions to take on campaign finance law…

Partial transcript as follows:

HEWITT: So to summarize, I want people to really understand this. There is, you can’t be bought. There isn’t enough money to buy a party, and the Supreme Court said that that’s a bogus argument. Nevertheless, the real hidden story remains union funding and special interest funding that always goes unremarked upon. Are you caught up, Reince Priebus, vis-à-vis the left when it comes to political campaign funding?

PRIEBUS: I think as far as hard money competing with all of that, I’d say no, because the way that the laws are written, and the way that unions abuse the system and the fact that they have a built-in field operation where unions are actually using paid employees to go door to door and do their field work, no. But it gets us a step closer. And I think eventually, we need to get to a place where we don’t, where we have as long as we’ve got disclosure at the party level, we need to be on the same playing field as unions and third parties and 527’s and everyone else. So we’re getting there, and the McCutcheon case is a key component to getting the national parties on both sides on an even playing field with all of these third party groups.

HEWITT: Last question…

PRIEBUS: I don’t think we should have caps at all.

HEWITT: That’s what I wanted to get to, because I don’t, either. I think that contribution limits are unconstitutional, and they have to be revisited. Will you look for an opportunity to put that before the Court as well?

PRIEBUS: Absolutely, I would. And I would look to another, and I would look to cases that allow us to raise soft money, and I would look to cases that allow us to raise money for the conventions, and but disclose it all. You know, I mean, that’s kind of where I’m at personally, but you know, you look at even some of these disclosure laws, Hugh. You’ve got now groups that are targeting people viciously, both businesses and individuals, because their names are disclosed. I mean, you want to be for disclosure. But when you start to see some of the cases out there where people are targeted, and businesses are targeted and picketed and threatened for political contributions, then now you’re suppressing free speech through disclosure. So I mean, even things that I want to agree with are getting to be very difficult.