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Mediamatters.Org - In a June 25 article
on the Senate's confirmation of five new commissioners for the Federal
Election Commission, The Washington Post did not note that
President Bush withdrew the renomination of FEC chairman David Mason, who has
requested that Sen. John McCain assure the FEC he did not act improperly by
signing a loan agreement
that could have forced him to remain in the race -- even if he had no chance of
winning -- in order to be eligible for public matching funds to repay the loan. As Media Matters for America has noted, Mason
has stated that
McCain cannot opt out of public financing in the primary without FEC approval,
as McCain has attempted to do, meaning that every day that McCain spends beyond
the limits
of the public financing system -- which he has already exceeded -- he could be breaking federal law. The
Post did not mention that Bush
withdrew Mason's renomination despite reporting: "The six-member
panel has been unable to consider action this election year because only two
commissioners were left after three recess appointments expired in December.
... The FEC thus could not resolve a range of disputes, including questions
about Republican Sen. John McCain's withdrawal from the public financing system
during the presidential primaries."
By contrast, on
June 24, the Associated
Press reported:
Earlier this month, President Bush
decided to withdraw Mason's nomination, prompting a protest from [Senate
Majority Leader Harry] Reid [D-NV] and from watchdog groups.
Mason has on few occasions voted
with Democrats on regulatory matters. Earlier this year, he angered officials
in Republican John McCain's presidential campaign by raising questions about a
loan McCain obtained and by informing the campaign that it needed a vote of the
commission before withdrawing from the primary's public financing system.
Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the
FEC over McCain's loan and on Tuesday it sued in federal court to compel the
FEC to investigate the matter.
The Post also
failed to mention Mason's withdrawn renomination to the FEC in a May 17
article, as Media Matters noted
at the time.
The June 25 Post
article by reporter Matthew Mosk,
in its entirety:
The Senate confirmed five new
commissioners for the Federal Election Commission last night, ending a
six-month impasse during which the agency was paralyzed by its lack of a
quorum.
"We're finally going to restore
the FEC," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said as the
chamber prepared for the voice vote.
The six-member panel has been unable
to consider action this election year because only two commissioners were left
after three recess appointments expired in December. Democrats blocked
consideration of any replacements over objections to one of President Bush's
choices, former Justice Department official Hans von Spakovsky, whom they
accused of politicizing cases of voting rights.
The FEC thus could not resolve a
range of disputes, including questions about Republican Sen. John McCain's withdrawal
from the public financing system during the presidential primaries. And it was
blocked from drafting congressionally mandated regulations to force
congressional candidates to disclose how much money lobbyists are raising for
their campaigns.
The logjam was broken last month
when von Spakovsky withdrew his name from consideration.
The new members of the FEC are
Cynthia L. Bauerly of Minnesota, Caroline C. Hunter of Florida, Donald F.
McGahn of the District and Matthew S. Petersen of Utah, the current chief
counsel for the minority on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
Steven T. Walther, one of the recess appointments, was confirmed to a full
term. The five will join commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub.Media Matters - Discussing FEC confirmations, Wash. Post omitted that Bush withdrew nomination of chairman who questioned McCain loan {...} In an article on five new FEC confirmations, The Washington Post did not note that President Bush withdrew the renomination of chairman David Mason, who has requested that Sen. John McCain assure the FEC he did not act improperly by signing a loan agreement that could have forced him to remain in the race -- even if he had no chance of winning -- in order to be eligible for public matching funds to repay the loan. {...} Published: June 25, 2008, 11:29 pm - Indexed: June 26, 2008, 9:58 am - Page Size: 19KB |