John King: Campaign finance reform and other political issues

King

John King is CNN's senior White House correspondent.

CNN: Good morning John King. Welcome all to Political Week in Preview chat.

KING: Hello everyone.

CNN: The House will take up campaign finance this week. How tough is it going to be to get enough consensus to make reform a reality?

KING: Well that is a tough question and depends on your definition of reform. Whatever the House passes will have to be reconciled with the Senate version, and the president doesn't like some of what is in these bills. But it is also unclear, and some think unlikely, he would veto any legislation that cleared congress. But the main point is it depends on your definition of reform.

CHAT AUDIENCE: What are the main differences between the Senate and House versions of the campaign finance reform bill?

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KING: Well the Shays-Meehan bill will be introduced to mirror the Senate measure, but there will be alternatives and amendments. So what they look like in the beginning is less the issue than what happens on the floor and how successful opponents of McCain-Feingold-Meehan-Shays like Whip Tom Delay are in changing the legislation.

CNN: How does Senator McCain respond to charges that he is "bullying" members of the House in order to pass a bill like McCain Feingold?

KING: Bullying is a tough term but he is an aggressive advocate for his legislation and wants the House to keep it as close as possible to get it through a conference committee. He is fighting for his bill -- some people just don't like it.

CHAT AUDIENCE: Will the present campaign finance reform bills hurt the Democrats or Republicans more?

KING: That is an ongoing debate -- Democrats raise most of their "soft money" from labor unions; the Republicans from corporations. The Republicans raise more money usually so one could say, from a math standpoint, the GOP; yet many Republicans would argue the Democrats raise a higher percentage of their overall money from "soft money" -- so it is a question that is debated and debated ....

CHAT AUDIENCE: How can this bill (campaign finance reform) be kept in committee so that it will die?

KING: Well, it could be if the chairman wanted to try; but then it could be subject to a so-called "discharge petition" and supporters have shown they have considerable support, so you might only raise the profile of the issue by trying that tactic.

CHAT AUDIENCE: Do you think that the seemingly endless election cycles hurt the chances of real change happening?

KING: No -- this is a matter of votes. But what the two-year congressional cycle does is make it very important as to when any legislation would pass -- and when the effective date would be. So if it passed late this year, some of it might have to be staggered so as not to impact 2002 fund-raising that already is in the works under existing rules

CHAT AUDIENCE: Mr. King, how serious are the differences between the administration and Republican moderates in the House? Is the administration concerned?

KING: Well, on campaign finance most of the moderates want to ban soft money. Mr. Bush wants some other restrictions on unions, for example, before he is willing to do that; on patients bill of rights many of the moderates back a version that the president says is too generous to lawyers... so it depends on the issue but the administration is trying to work more closely with them and the HMO reform debate will be a good test.

CHAT AUDIENCE: What are the chances of this new Senate doing anything about repealing some of the antiquated gun laws we currently have on the books?

KING: Gun control is not a major legislative priority this year. Remember the balance is still very close and many of the Democrats up in 2002 are from states where acting on gun control is not in their interest; there could be debate on the "gun show loophole," but that is the only major gun issue currently on the radar screen.

CHAT AUDIENCE: How is covering this administration different from covering the Clinton administration?

KING: The pace is different -- a little less chaotic at the beginning and there are so many new people to get to know. This administration studied the first year of the Clinton administration and they believe Mr. Clinton tried to touch too many issues, and so Mr. Bush has tried to be more disciplined. It is also an "older administration" in terms of people in senior positions.

CHAT AUDIENCE: How will this administration address this country's lack of manufacturing capacity as the engine for war, since it is an administration committed to 'restoring' the military?

KING: That is a major debate over the next few years -- trying to keep a defense manufacturing base. Mr. Bush will propose new weapons systems and of course wants missile defense but there is a movement away from tanks and heavy artillery and so some areas might benefit from new defense spending, but other more traditional defense manufacturers could see themselves in a scramble to adjust if the president gets his way.

CNN: What other political stories will we hear more about this week?

KING: The president's decision on stem cell research will be in the next few weeks and is getting a lot of attention. Also, the president keeps pushing Congress to resolve differences over education. And he is preparing for his trip to Europe next week, so he is looking overseas as well as to the return of Congress. It's a busy time.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today John King. See you again next week, same time, same place.

KING: Thank you ... and have a good week.

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Battle lines drawn as House readies for campaign finance debate
July 9, 2001