Recycled

Things Fall Apart

On Monday the Senate passed the McCain-Feingold campaign-reform bill. In 1997, Kenneth A. Gross pointed out a glaring loophole in McCain-Feingold’s ban on “issue ads”—one that still exists in this year’s bill. Also that year, Jacob Weisberg outlined the constitutional problems posed by such bans. Earlier this year, Weisberg explained why Democrats are hesitant to ban soft money. Last week, Michael Kinsley argued that the line between “issue ads” and “free press” is a fuzzy one, and William Saletan provided this guide to common campaign-finance arguments.