Hard-pressed to convince Americans to give them hard-money contributions, and hamstrung by soft-money restrictions in the McCain-Feingold anti-free-speech law (which they supported), Democrats have turned to so-called 527 groups to finance their efforts to elect candidates this fall. It is illegal, however, for these groups to coordinate their activities with federal campaigns, which the Republican National Committee claims the Democrats are doing.
"Senator Kerry, who supported the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act [McCain-Feingold], is now the beneficiary of the single largest conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws in history," said RNC Chief Counsel Jill Holtzman Vogel, explaining a complaint the RNC has filed with the Federal Election Commission. The complaint alleges coordination between Kerry's campaign and groups such as America Coming Together, America Votes, MoveOn.org, and the Partnership for America's Families.
