Critics say reform might change who gets, not who gives

WASHINGTON -- St. Louis-based Anheuser Busch Companies has given more than $528,000 for the 2002 elections, more than half of it to the national Republican and Democratic parties.

The national party contributions are unregulated "soft money," which is the target of a bitterly contested effort to curb the influence of money on American politics. The measure would forbid "soft money" contributions such as Anheuser Busch's.

The campaign finance legislation picked up speed with House passage last month, followed by Senate leaders' promise of swift action.

Supporters of the campaign spending overhaul -- including Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who sought the GOP nomination for president -- say it would clean up the nation's political campaigns by sharply curbing "soft money."

Foes argue the measure is unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that campaign contributions are a form of free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Opponents also say the measure may provide a big enough loophole for "soft money" donors to direct most of their contributions to state and local party committees.

In the House, Missouri Republican Reps. Kenny Hulshof, Sam Graves, Jo Ann Emerson, Roy Blunt and Todd Akin opposed the bill; Democratic Reps. Ike Skelton, Karen McCarthy, Dick Gephardt and William Lacy Clay voted for it.

The unlimited contributions were first allowed in 1978, when the Federal Election Commission said yes to a state party that wanted to pay for a get-out-the-vote campaign with money from corporations and unions, which was banned in federal elections under post-Watergate campaign spending reforms.

Top five donors

In Missouri, Anheuser Busch is the biggest donor of this "soft money" for the November elections. Federal Election Commission records show the company has donated at least $528,607, $325,269 of it in "soft money" to the Republican and Democratic parties.

The No. 2 donor so far is the Missouri Republican State Committee, which gave $166,250 to the national Senate GOP committee. Next is May Department Stores, $75,000; then Charter Communications Inc., $60,000; and the Missouri Democratic State Committee, $50,830.

The campaign finance measure being debated in Congress would stop the use of "soft money" to pay for issue ads within two months of a general election and one month of a primary.

States like Missouri are waiting to see how the measure, if passed, would affect them. In the House version, a provision would allow the unlimited "soft money" to be raised by state party committees for the same party-building activities it currently is used for, at least in states where contributions from labor unions and corporations is unlimited.

"The theory is that now, since they are putting the clamps down on what the national parties can do, contributors will start giving more to many of the state parties," said Scott Baker, a spokesman for the Missouri Republican Party. "But that's not a certainty, because the state party is not the national party, in terms of scope of influence and impact on big races like the presidency."