Political parties should disclose all funds

Thursday, April 20, 2000

Monitoring the way money influences politics can be approached two ways.

The wrong way is to limit free speech by restricting how much money people may spend to disseminate a political message.

The right way is to require that all such spending be fully disclosed, so that voters can see who is giving how much to whom and decide for themselves what influence that money is having on the recipient.

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell is correct in recommending that Ohio law be changed to require disclosure not only of donations to candidates but also of contributions to party operating funds, an area of campaign finance not currently open to public scrutiny.

Blackwell reiterated his position after The Dispatch reported that the Ohio Republican Party had organized a fund-raising effort that offered special incentives to those who donated $25,000 or more to the GOP's operating fund.

Perks for these Team Ohio donors included attendance at an Oct. 8 reception at the Governor's Residence and a seat in the governor's box at Ohio Stadium for the Oct. 9 football game between Ohio State University and Purdue.

The fund-raising incentives invited comparison to President Clinton's sharply criticized fund-raising schemes, which included inviting prospective donors to "teas'' in the White House and rewarding important supporters by letting them sleep in the executive mansion's Lincoln Bedroom.

Gov. Bob Taft wisely has recognized that the Team Ohio program creates a bad impression and has announced that he will not participate in any similar party fund- raiser in the future.

He also supports amending state campaign-finance law to require disclosure of all contributions to political parties, including operating funds, a view shared by Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery and House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson. Clearly, there is a powerful consensus on the issue, one that should override the objections of Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett. Bennett has declined to reveal the names of the Team Ohio donors or the amounts they contributed to the GOP's operating fund.

Bennett is correct when he says the party is not required by state law to disclose money donated to the party operating fund. And many of the donors probably expected or were promised confidentiality when they made contributions.

But it's time to change the rules. Allowing large amounts of political cash to go undisclosed feeds public suspicion and cynicism and drives the demand for more campaign- contribution limits, which only encourage creative attempts to get around the law.

Instead, state law should be amended to include full disclosure of all contributions to candidates and political parties.