No, seriously, it’s the best. It’s like I have a superhuman ability to predict the political future. While I recognize that with great power comes great responsibility, I have no problem shirking that responsibility in favor of juvenile gloating. And so I will:

Ha HA! I was right. And it feels so, so good.

I suppose you’re wondering what I’m talking about. I guess I’ll let you in on it. In the spring, I wrote an article here discussing the arguments heard in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., a Supreme Court case testing the constitutionality of a specific provision of the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill. That bill was of course written by current GOP nominee hopeful John McCain. That provision made it illegal for non-profit organizations to broadcast issue ads that were targeted at specific candidates for office. In my (typically excellent) article, I wrote:

A few months later, the Court, as I predicted, struck down the provision. In a confusing opinion that ignored very recent precedent, the Court held that non-profit advertisers could target any candidate they wanted so long as the advertisement could not reasonably be interpreted to be a direct appeal to voters.

It’s now a few months even later and we’re now in the heat of the primary season. So guess which candidate was the first to have one of these new types of ads run in his favor?

Dun, dun, DUUUUUUUUUUN.

Thank you, thank you. I know I rule, but please hold your applause until I finish.

The ad was sponsored by a group called the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America. It is also available for viewing on their website. It features glowing praise of our soldiers, McCain, and Republican Senator Lindsay Graham. It does the classic political ad “black-and-white unflattering photos with scary music” tactic with Nancy Pelosi and no-name Democratic representative David Obey of Wisconsin, essentially accusing them of hating our troops. All in all, it’s pretty typical campaign stuff. Except that unlike those typical campaign ads you see, the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America does not have to disclose who is funding them. They do not have to include a statement of responsibility from the candidates represented. This is because they are taking advantage of that loophole in McCain-Feingold created by FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life. Yippee!

As the New York Times points out, there’s something fishy going on here.

So, to sum up: McCain’s supporters set up a sham non-profit (a “501(c)4”, for those of you who care about citations) to run ads outside campaign finance laws that he set up and that paint him in his most positive light. Meanwhile, McCain himself gets to deny a connection because those supporters don’t have to disclose any such connection. The ads get to run unfettered.

Now, it’s possible that McCain is actually telling the truth and indeed doesn’t want an ad like this to run in his favor. He could be earnestly pissed off that someone pushing his candidacy would so brazenly flaunt the rules that he would like people to live by. ‘Who are these rapscallions” he must be bellowing, “and how dare they sully my good Christian name?!”

That could be the case. Except for this one juicy little nugget of information:

Well if that don’t just beat all. I’m shocked, I say. Shocked!

See, it turns out that because McCain can’t raise money the normal way, this is the only shot he’s got to stay in the race. The scary thing is that it appears to be working.

McCain’s poll numbers in many early primary states have jumped over the past few weeks, as he’s cut the lead Giuliani once had on him in half. Whereas before that would not have mattered because he would not have been able to outspend other candidates, now he doesn’t have to worry about those pesky campaign laws and his buddies can do the work for him. Everybody wins!

Of course, in the interest of fairness, this is a loophole that will be exploited extensively by both sides. George Soros has already set up organizations to do this for Democratic candidates as well. Personally, I don’t even mind the practice too much (though I think the organizations should have to disclose their donors). However, the irony in the fact that the first shot in the 501(c)4 war was fired across the bow by McCain’s boys is just out-fucking-standing.

But more important than all of that is the inescapably glorious truth: I was right.

Again.

Y’alls owe Subrosa a fiver.