The two rulings are the first major campaign finance decisions since the Supreme Court said earlier this year that corporations, unions and groups of individuals can spend unlimited sums supporting or opposing candidates
- as long as they do it independently of campaigns. The high court so far has upheld campaign finance disclosure rules and the McCain-Feingold law's ban on the raising and spending of "soft money" by national party committees and presidential and congressional candidates.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said the RNC will appeal its case to the Supreme Court. If the court takes the case, it would be unlikely to rule before the November elections.
In the RNC case, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Washington said it lacks the authority to overturn a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the ban on the raising of soft money
- unlimited donations from corporations, unions and others - by national party committees. That ban is a cornerstone of the McCain-Feingold law and one of the few major parts of the law to survive court challenges.
The RNC argues it should be able to raise soft money for state elections, congressional redistricting after the 2010 census, legal costs, mobilizing voters around political issues and to cover other expenses it says have nothing to do with federal elections. It contends the soft money ban leaves it at a disadvantage in elections compared with interest groups and unions that can spend freely on ads.
"The very core of the First Amendment protects the ability of political parties not only to nominate and elect candidates at every level, but also to engage in discussions about public policy issues of national importance," Steele said in a statement. "As a matter of course, we plan to appeal this matter to the Supreme Court."
The Federal Election Commission contends the soft money ban should be upheld.
Joining the RNC in the lawsuit were the California Republican Party, San Diego County Republican Party and Steele. The court also rejected their arguments that the law's soft money ban shouldn't apply to their fundraising for various activities.
In a separate case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the conservative group SpeechNow.org can raise unlimited donations from individuals for election ads it plans to run independently of candidates, in line with a recent Supreme Court ruling. But the group will have to periodically file reports with the FEC detailing its fundraising and spending and follow other rules that apply to political committees, the appeals court said.
The group is considering whether to appeal the disclosure requirement ruling to the Supreme Court.
SpeechNow.org wanted to operate free of the fundraising and many of the disclosure and organizational requirements that the FEC places on political committees. It believes the FEC's political action committee rules, including requirements that it have a treasurer and periodically file fundraising and itemized spending reports, make it too hard for individuals who decide to jump in close to elections to join forces and air ads on candidates, Bert Gall, one of its lawyers, said Friday.
