Is McCain hamstringed by his own law?
If you follow the implications, since he entered the federal matching funds program, John McCain is now essentially at the spending limit, and is legally prohibited from spending any more money until September. To spend more money would be to break federal law.
That law, by the way, is sometimes named after its Senate sponsors: McCain-Feingold.
Now McCain claims to have withdrawn from the federal matching funds program. But since he gained benefits from joining it, it might not be possible for him to withdraw:
McCain publicly declared that he would accept the matching funds (and therefore abide by the spending limits). But since he was broke, he had to go to a bank and secure a loan under dubious conditions. Since he appears to have secured the loan by using his eligibility to accept the federal matching funds, it seems fairly clear that he is committed to the federal matching funds system.
The DNC's complaint will allege the following. Fist, that McCain used his status as a candidate operating under the federal matching fund program to gain access on state ballots without having to spend any money to submit signatures.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If McCain can't spend money until September, that could be utterly crippling. Republican donors will channel the money to third parties or something.
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