Mourdock Campaign Finance Questions Much Ado About Nothing

There's been some push from Lugar partisans on Twitter and on various blogs to advance a notion that Richard Mourdock, as Indiana's State Treasurer, can't raise money for a Senate campaign against Dick Lugar because Indiana campaign finance law forbids fundraising during a legislative session.

Such opinions don't have any basis in fact or law (and some of those advancing that argument are lawyers and ought to know better). Federal campaign finance law trumps state campaign finance law, and there are two advisory opinions from the Federal Election Commission (advisory opinions are when the FEC answers questions campaigns have about campaign finance law issues) to that effect. Prohibitions on fundraising at a state level do not apply at the Federal level.

Those opinions are 1995-48 and 1993-25, which are available by going here and typing in the opinion numbers.

Both opinions are variations on the same theme. And their conclusions are basically the same. Mourdock can raise money for a Senate bid. State law cannot regulate or restrict fundraising for a Federal campaign.

So much for that argument.

Perhaps Lugar's defenders should go back to explaining to us why, after 35 years, their man still hasn't managed to accomplish anything in his never-ending campaign against "Big Sugar."