Tip to McCain: To promote reform, bag your national finance co-chair

By Ken Silverstein

The Washington Post reports today that Barack Obama and John McCain are both working to

freeze out “527″ groups—named after a provision in the tax code—which are not allowed to openly support a candidate but have helped define recent elections through negative advertising.

McCain could get started by dismissing A. Jerrold Perenchio as his national finance co-chair. According to a 2007 Post article:

Perenchio, now a member of McCain’s finance committee, funneled more than $1.4 million in soft money to Republican causes in the 1998, 2000 and 2002 election campaigns, often in amounts McCain used to criticize. For one G.O.P. fundraising dinner in the spring of 2001, for example, he donated $250,000. Perenchio has also been a major donor to the 527 groups formed to exploit a loophole in the legislation sponsored by McCain and Feingold…Perenchio gave $4 million to a pro-Republican 527 group called Progress for America, which helped Bush in the 2004 campaign. In the 2006 congressional races, Perenchio gave $5 million more to the same group.

(Emphasis added—and yes, it’s likely that Obama has similar people among his inner circle.)