NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean wants to lower the limit of individual campaign contributions from $2,000 to $250, part of a new focus on policy ideas aimed at rescuing his battered candidacy.

Advisers to Dean said he would announce the proposal Thursday before a candidate debate in the hotly contested primary.

Dean is trying to recoup his loss in Iowa with a win in New Hampshire on Tuesday, although tracking polls show he's losing ground to his rivals. The former Vermont governor has been trying to paint his foes as Washington insiders beholden to special interests.

Do as He Says, Not as He Does

Dean, who opted out of the public financing system for the race, said that special interests had bought both major parties and that Washington lawmakers looked after big donors instead of ordinary people. The average donation to Dean's campaign, the best-funded of the Democrats, is less than $100.

His argument is an echo of campaign finance maven John McCain, the Republican senator who stunned George W. Bush by winning the New Hampshire primary in 2000 before bowing out of the presidential race.

"One of the reasons they don't stand up for what's right is because they're always looking at who contributed money to their campaign and figuring out whether they're going to be angry or not," he said during a speech at his New Hampshire campaign headquarters. "So if we want people to stand up for what's right, we have to have real campaign finance reform."

On the Taxpayers' Dole

Dean said for every $100 that someone donates to a presidential campaign, the government should match it with $500 and give the donor a $100 tax credit. He said the government should double spending limits in the primary elections and increase the incentive for candidates to stay within the public financing system.

If a candidate decides to break federal spending limits and opt out of the system, other candidates in the race should get additional funding, he said. Dean also wants a public education program to get more taxpayers to check off the funding option on their tax forms and raise the amount from $3 to $5.

In bypassing the public financing system, Dean said it was the only way he could compete with President Bush. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts followed suit. The remaining Democratic candidates are abiding by spending limits.

Dean also said he wanted to get rid of the Federal Election Commission that oversees campaign financing because it's toothless and serves the parties instead of the public. He wants to require broadcasters to devote a few hours of airtime to public affairs every week near an election.

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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