HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, SOFTIES!

A federal court Monday temporarily restored limits on political donations and advertising that it had struck down as unconstitutional, making 2004 candidates operate under the law passed by Congress last year until the Supreme Court settles the matter.

The Justice Department and the law’s sponsors had asked the three-judge panel handling the case to

A three-judge federal panel yesterday suspended enforcement of its May 2 ruling that struck down or modified key provisions of the nation's new campaign finance law, effectively restoring the law as the legal ground rules for political fund-raising until the Supreme Court decides if the measure is constitutional.

The decision negated the immediate effects of the panel's earlier 1,600-page ruling that found several sections of the law known as McCain-Feingold to be unconstitutional. Most notably, the panel had struck down a provision that barred the national political parties from raising unlimited amounts of "soft money" in unregulated contributions from corporations, unions and wealthy individuals.

Now the soft money ban will remain in effect, at least for several months. (full story)

Yeah yeah, I know that with the ban in place, Republicans have an even more significant fundraising advantage over Democrats because of hard money. But political expediency aside, it's the right thing to do, dammit! I'm a fan of clean elections, so yeah.