The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 25, 2000 - 5 High Court affirms state rights to limit contributions WASHINGTON (AP) - In a timely election-year ruling, the Supreme Court yesterday reaffirmed states' sweeping power to place limits on campaign contributions to political candidates. The justices, splitting 6-3, reinstated Missouri's limits for state races and safeguarded for now the $1,000 cap on indi- viduals' contributions to candidates for federal office, who Wid spend $3 billion nationwide this year. About two-thirds of the states impose campaign contribu- tion limits. In California, voters will be asked in a March 7 initiative to impose limits and ban corporate and union con- tributions in state races. The court's three dissenters said yesterday's decision tram- pies free-speech rights and voted for letting people contribute as much as they want to all candidates by overturning a 1976 Supreme Court landmark that still shapes the nation's politi- cal landscape. The court said fighting corruption, or even the perception of corruption, justifies contribution limits. "Leave the perception of impropriety unanswered, and the cynical assumption that large donors call the tune could jeop- ardize the willingness of voters to take part in democratic governance," Justice David Souter wrote for the court. "Democracy works only if the people have faith in those who govern, and that faith is bound to be shattered when high officials and their appointees engage in activities which arouse suspicions of malfeasance and corruption." Left unaffected by the ruling is currently unregulated "soft money" -- contributions made to groups that spend money without ties to specific candidates. President Clinton praised the decision as "a victory for democracy" in a statement read by press secretary Joe Lockhart. "The American people know that our political sys- tem needs to be fixed, and today's decision sets the stage for further reform," said Clinton, who is urging Congress to pass more campaign-finance changes this year. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona senator and Republican presidential contender, also applauded the ruling as "mar- velous." He has made campaign reform the centerpiece of his bid for the GOP nomination. E. Joshua Rosenkranz, of the pro-limits Brennan Center for Justice, called the ruling "a grand slam home run reformers have been waiting for" because the court "holds in no uncer- tain terms that it is the province of the legislature, not the courts, to set contribution limits" But James Bopp, an Indiana lawyer who represents the National Right to Life Committee, the National Rifle Association and other groups in challenging contribution Iim- its, said restricting donations "is bad for democracy." Bopp said courts still can strike down contribution limits found to be set so low they prevent candidates from financ- ing campaigns. The nation's highest court had not ruled on contribution lim- its since 1976, when, in a decision called Buckley vs. Valeo, it said free-speech rights trump any attempt to limit an individual candidate's spending. But the court also said back then that contributions to federal candidates could be limited to $1,000. That ruling focused on a 1974 federal law enacted after the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. The Missouri limits for statewide races - also $1,000 before being adjusted to $1,075 - were not imposed until 1994. A federal appeals court struck down the limitation, saying inflation had eroded its fairness. But Souter said a state's authority to limit contributions cannot be tied to the Consumer Price Index. "There is little reason to doubt that sometimes large contri- butions will work actual corruption on our political system, and no reason to question the existence of a corresponding suspicion among voters," he said. He was joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Gore, Bush take Iowa IOWA Continued from Page 1 in Granite state polls. Sen. John McCain of Arizona holds a slight lead over Bush in most New Hampshire GOP polls, and he hoped to sustain it even after bypassing Iowa. Forbes has been a distant third in New Hampshire, but hoped his Iowa showing would improve his numbers. With results from 95 percent of Iowa's counties, Bush had 41 percent of the caucus vote and Forbes 30 percent. Former ambas- sador and talk show host Alan Keyes was a respectable third at 14 percent, with Gary Bauer at 9 percent, John McCain 5 and Orrin Hatch just 1 - not even 900 votes. Hatch planned a news conference Tuesday, and an adviser said he was likely to drop out of the race. Bauer was said to be deeply dis- appointed and assessing the future of his can- didacy, but told 50 supporters he would forge , en to New Hampshire. "I wasn't raised to be a quitter' he said. Bush noted that the highest percentage achieved by a GOP victor in Iowa was 37.4, whenBob Dole beat Pat Robertson before Atalling in New Hampshire. The Iowa process will yield 47 delegates to 'the Democratic convention and 25 delegates to the GOP convention, a tiny fraction of the tptal a candidate needs to win the nomination. ." AP's delegate count showed Gore with 29 and Bradley 18. Bush was likely to earn 10 ANALYSIS Continued from Page 1 The Republicans also had their own surprise. "The combined support for the social conserva- tive side ... was actually pretty formidable, Traugott said, adding that "the result shows that (Bush) will have to move more to the right to maintain support in New Hampshire." Bush has been "trying to be a different kind of Republican" by trying to be more compassionate, Achen said. To win the nomination and campaign against members of their own respective parties, candi- dates must take extreme positions on issues that they would otherwise try to remain more central on, Achen said. Magazine editor Steve Forbes came in second after Bush in the Republican race, trailing behind by only 10 points. Forbes role in the caucus is to force Bush to take a more conservative stance - which will help him in the primaries - but may hurt him in the general election, Achen said. Traugott said although Forbes had a good showing of support in Iowa he heard that it cost Forbes nearly $10 million for campaign efforts. "This is a very high cost per vote," he said. The loss by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley will mean more to their campaign if they cannot win the New Hampshire primary next week, Achen said. It is particularly important "for the challengers to demonstrate this is not all over already" Achen said, adding that "nobody wants to give substan- tial money to a candidate who is going to be out of the race. "I think McCain really has to win New Hampshire and he knows that," Achen said. In November, McCain decided not to cam- paign in Iowa and focus his attention on the New Hampshire primary. This is largely due to his lack of funds for launching a campaign comparable to that of Bush's. For Bradley, the defeat will be less detrimental to his campaign because he has a stronger national organization and more money than McCain, Achen said. In order for Bradley to have a stronger showing in New Hampshire, he will have to use more neg- ative campaigning, Traugott said. When campaigning against a member of the same party policy issues are going to be somewhat similar and it is therefore neces- sary to focus on the opponent's personality, he added. Bradley will have to focus on some of the controversies from the 1996 Clinton-Gore cam- paign, such as receiving funds from internation- al contributors and the question of moral leader- ship. But Traugott warned that the estimate of the entry poll results may not reflect the actual pro- portion initially indicated. Achen stressed the necessity to remain cau- tious when looking at the entry polls because there is always the possibility that they are wrong, but he added that he does not doubt Gore and Bush's victories. Achen said he doesn't expect the other candi- dates such as television commentator Alan Keyes, Christian activist Gary Bauer and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to hold on very long. Hatch, although a respected politician, showed poorly in the caucus and there is speculation of his dropping out of the race, Achen said. As for Keyes and Bauer "they're in the race to make a certain point and they'll continue to do that," Achen said, adding that he doesn't expect them to hang on much longer. AP PHOTO Texas Gov. George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush celebrate his Iowa caucus victory last night as the first caucus sets off the season. delegates, compared to eight for Forbes, four for Keyes, two for Bauer and one for McCain. Forbes mounted, and funded, a particularly vigorous campaign here, calling on funda- mentalist and conservative support to chal- lenge the more moderate Bush. McCain passed up the contest to focus on more inde- pendent-oriented New Hampshire. Keyes bested Bauer in their duel for GOP social activists, dealing his rival a staggering blow. Gore's big margin blunted Bradley's chal- lenge going into New Hampshire where Bradley has polled even with Gore, or even ahead. In a sign of the tit-for-tat to come, Gore accused Bradley of "going negative" in the final days of the Iowa race - and said the tac- tic backfired. "I think it was a mistake for his campaign to go to the so-called negative approach but I'm not complaining," Gore said. "But based on what I've heard from from the voters out here they didn't expect that and didn't like it." 1roponents Health, education on congressional agenda fp o t u se WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress convened together" The House, in particular, had a new look, a new trillion publicly held debt could be paid ol yesterday with a blend of prayer and political The words were far less soothing in the House. carpet - in a lighter shade of blue - as well as 2015, assuming that Congress didn't dip int it elcajousting, ready to confront an election-year agen- where Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas new wiring for the sound system. Social Security trust fund surplus. t e C da topped by tax cuts and health care. Democrats launched the first partisan attack within minutes of January is customarily a slow month in House Republicans intend to move quickl f by o the ly to b enefits MARIJUANA Continued from Page 1 marijuana users will be able to smoke and grow marijuana in their homes. Schmid, a University alum, is direc- tor of Personal Responsibility Amendment 2000, a petition drive that began two weeks ago to "legalize the *lited personal use and possession of gsmall amountaof presumably home- growvn marijuana." Schmid said the proposal is "very carefully worded." '1 want to do this in a way it can't be reasonably objected to," he said. To avoid violating the Interstate Commerce Clause, which gives the fed- eral government the right to regulate erstate agriculture, Schmid's proposal dludes using only home-grown mari- juana. Schmid also cited this as a way to keep drug dealers out of the equation. The proposal hopes to make mari- juana use legal "so long as the use is for medical purposes or by an adult at least 2lIyears-old in a non-public manner not accessible by or visible to children." "We've been asking politely for years," Schmid said, adding that asking has resulted in measures like driver's license withdrawal as a penalty for pos- '1sion. "We're finished asking. Now we're demanding through the constitu- tional amendment initiative process," he said. Schmid, who does not smoke mari- juana, said he began working on the petition drive after a 69 percent vote to legalize medical marijuana in Washington, D.C. was overturned by Congress. "Lawyers need to come out of ence and stand up to despotism," Schmid said. Schmid said he expects many Michigan legislators to pledge support for his cause. Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) said he were buffeted by Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode's decision to become an independent. Within moments of the opening gavel, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said Republicans would push for an early vote on legislation granting citizenship to Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a politically charged custody battle. "Make the senators positive, courageous prob- lem solvers," chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie prayed from the Senate rostrum as Congress' long winter break came to an end. "Give them an unprecedented sense of oneness and unity to lead this great nation the session's opening. "Reports that the House is returning to work today are inaccurate," he said. "This House will complete month one of the new millennium with no action ... on any of the major issues that this country faces. Nothing on education, nothing on Social Security, nothing on the environment, noth- ing on tax reform or prescription drugs for seniors." Doggett's sharply worded remarks reflected an underlying political struggle in a year in which the presidency, all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats will be on the November ballot. Congress -- whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge - since lawmakers prefer to wait for the president's State of the Union address and bud- get proposals before tackling key issues. Clinton speaks before Congress and a nation- wide television audience on Thursday and will unveil his budget 10 days later. The White House and House Republicans have been laying out their agenda for several days in advance of the session, the last of Clinton's two- term presidency. House Speaker Dennis Hastert last week out- lined a plan under which the government's $3.7 bring legislation to the floor to ease the so-called "marriage penalty," and Majority Leader Dick Armey said in an interview a bill would soon fol- low to provide education tax breaks. Armey (R-Texas) also said the House will act early in the year on legislation to revitalize com- munities where economic growth is stagnant. House Republicans also intend to pass legis- lation relating to HMOs and some sort of pre- scription drug benefit for Medicare, bills that Democrats first placed on the agenda and that some GOP aides privately have said must pass if the party is to hold the House next fall. E-ideas among solutions for Postal Service funding woes r European Beer Night $1.00 off pints of Continental European Brews 9 p.m.-Close Washington Post WASHINGTON - Inside his office high above UEnfant Plaza, Postmaster General William Henderson juggles the present and the future. He estimates he will need to chop U.S. Postal Service costs by $1 billion this year to avoid red ink. But he also needs to find a strategy, at whatever cost, to expand the agency into the new world of e-mail and e- commerce. He has a bundle of e-ideas. The Postal Service, for instance, gould develop an electronic mailbox, giving American households an Internet address to match up with their physical address. If a home did not have a com- puter link to the Internet, the agency would print out the electronic mes- sages, put the paper into an envelope and hand-deliver it. The Postal Service could also set up an Internet auction site to help retailers dispose of surplus goods. Or even help Americans pay their bills electronically. "We're in no different a position than every company in America ... and that is to figure out what this new channel means to you," Henderson said. "How is it going to hurt you and how is it going to help you?" But the Postal Service has come late to the Internet game and faces numer- ous hurdles: It is a classic bricks-and- mortar, labor-intensive business, fight- ing to control costs. It must live within constraints dictated by Congress and the federal bureaucracy. It operates against tough competition from private- sector delivery companies. Perhaps more important, critics con- tend that the Postal Service is neither fast, flexible nor innovative - the chief characteristics of the Internet economy. "You have to wonder if the days are not numbered," said Donna Hoffman, co-director of eLab, an electronic com- merce research center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. "I think they have real challenges," said Bill Whyman, an Internet strategist for the Legg Mason Precursor Group. "Just look at instant messaging. America Online's service delivers more messages than the U.S. Postal Service by 50 percent every day." Historically, increases in mail vol- ume have helped the agency cover its costs. 338 S. 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