McCain, Russ Feingold and advocates of campaign finance reform everywhere finally notched a victory Thursday when the Senate steamrolled Trent Lott and Mitch McConnell with a 92-6 passage of a bill requiring "527's" — secretive, tax-exempt political groups — to disclose the source, amount and destination of their funding. It's the first piece of reform legislation to hit a president's desk since 1979, and it could be law in time to affect this fall's presidential campaigns, particularly that of George W. Bush. And McCain, who made nice with Bush but didn't hesitate to decry the nominee's use of 527's against McCain in the primaries, figures he's just getting warmed up.
"Would I have liked to have accomplished more? Absolutely," he told reporters. "Will we continue our fight along with my friend from Wisconsin to enact more sweeping reform? I absolutely promise to do so — today is only the first step." Added the friend from Wisconsin, Sen. Russ Feingold: "This is a great victory that will give us substantial momentum for a broader campaign finance reform."
As he trumpeted the bill's passage, McCain got to savor a defeat of his nemesis McConnell, who voted in vain against this bill but remains the roadblock to the soft-money ban McCain and Feingold hold much more dear. Now, with Al Gore's soft-monk troubles hanging in the air and 92 senators in a reforming mood, McCain has real reason to feel encouraged. Will he make a stink about soft money in Philadelphia next month? Probably not — until Bush actually wins, McCain still has hopes of reappearing as a party man in 2004.
But in the Senate, the crusade will continue, and on Wednesday Trent Lott was worried enough about it to tell McCain he'd step aside this time if the Arizona senator would shut up about reform for the rest of the year. McCain called that offer "the height of foolishness." You don't quit a crusade just when things are looking up.