proximately 150 million dollars was spent on "phony" issue ads (Campaign Finance Reform). The problem with these issue ads is that they are often not regulated by campaign finance laws. John Heck, the executive director for Common Cause, said, "[The question] is about how to draw a correct line between issue advocacy, which is not subject to regulation, and electioneering or campaign advocacy, which clearly and constitutionally is" (Campaign Finance Reform). The Center for Responsive Politics reported that, "Issue ads, which may raise hot-button issues and even attack or support specific candidates, are legally considered non-political as long as they stop short of explicitly calling for any candidates election or defeat" (Campaign Finance Reform). The rise of these ads is an added concern to what needs to be reformed. These issue ads are just another outlet that soft money can flow into. The exact aim of the McCain-Feingold proposal is to curtail soft money and to ensure that all funds used in campaigns are fully disclosed and regulated. Under the act, a strict ban would be placed on all soft money contributions. All state partiesthe loophole that soft money stems fromwould be prohibited from spending soft money on activities which affect federal elections (Campaign Finance Reform). Activities such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts could only continue with funds raised under the federal limits (S. 25). The bill would also crack down on all individual expenditures, which are expenditures that "expressly advocate" the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate which is made without the cooperation or consultation with any candidate. The legislation would require outside groups to provide full disclosure of all expenditures to the Federal Election Commission (S. 25). Another attack point of the McCain-Feingold bill is on issue ads. Current law permits the government to regulate campaign expenditures ...
