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March 22, 2002/Nisan 9, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 27
Finance reform may not affect Jews
SHARON SAMBER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - When Bill Clinton won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1996, Monte Friedkin was standing at his side.
It was a powerful statement about the Florida businessman's influence as the former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee who also happened to be the national chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council.
And in 2000, Mel Sembler, a shopping center developer from Florida who was the honorary chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, served as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee and was a major supporter of George W. Bush's run for the presidency. Today he serves as the U.S. ambassador to Italy.
The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping campaign finance reform bill on March 20. It is too soon to know just how such an overhaul will alter the political influence of the Jewish community.
The impact of large Jewish donors and fund-raisers - which both the Democratic and Republican parties have relied upon heavily for tens of millions of dollars - is going to change.
Still, most experts think that Jewish interests will fare well because the community is politically well organized and can adapt to change.
The bill prohibits unregulated contributions by groups or individuals to the parties, known as "soft money" donations. It also limits broadcast ads shortly before elections.
The ban on unlimited donations to national parties is not expected to adversely affect the political influence of the Jewish community, and some even think the new laws will enhance Jewish influence.
The potential effects of the bill are "overblown," according to Morris Amitay, the founder of Washington PAC, a pro-Israel political action committee. "This is much ado about nothing. This doesn't change much at all for our community."
Some of the ways larger contributions can still be made include donating up to $10,000 to state and local parties per year, or financing issue ad campaigns and direct mail efforts.
But the prevailing notion is that hard money - money that goes directly to candidates and their campaigns - has been and will continue to be the backbone of Jewish giving.
"The Jewish community's strength is not in the $100,000 checks, it's in the $1,000 checks," Friedkin said.
In fact, the bill doubles - to $2,000 - the amount individuals can contribute directly to a candidate. Donors could give up to $95,000 to candidates and parties in each two-year election cycle.
In 1998 and 1999, the U.S. House of Representatives passed campaign finance reform legislation but the measures died in the Senate.
While several Jewish groups have expressed support for some form of reform, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has been beating the drum for campaign finance reform for years
"Soft money and issue ads breed mistrust, cynicism and apathy - sentiments that are as incompatible with a healthy democracy as they are with religious principles," the center said in a statement.
There are some voices in the community that note Jews, because of their small numbers, cannot rely solely on their power as a voting bloc and therefore whatever influence they can yield through political machines - and giving - is important.
But Ken Goldstein, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, thinks Jews will just step up their giving directly to candidates and campaigns, and therefore the legislative change will not affect the influence that Jews have on politics.
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