So, I was ready to slam the Republican (James had sent a sub yesterday) in the TV Intereconomia debate that we do weekly on what was called “La Campana” and now with the much more macho title: “Maximo Interes.” With the name change came a format change and I all three of us were on separate sets, unable to hear each other’s comments and with about 1/2 the time we normally have. But back to slamming the Republican: while everyone is enraptured with the Hillary-Barack show-down, John McCain has made a serious mistake. As a Democratic activist, I’ve already grown weary of our family fight—I’m ready to beat on the Republican and this week, Howard Dean is leading us in that effort.

On the 25th, the DNC filed a complaint with the FEC against John McCain’s campaign Monday, calling on the FEC to investigate whether the McCain campaign violated or is about to violate the law by ignoring the spending limit agreement and other conditions Senator McCain agreed to when he became eligible to receive federal matching funds. According to McCain’s latest campaign filing, he has already spent $49.6 million and given that a month has passed, he has exceeded or is about to exceed the approximately $56.8 million spending limit.

So when McCain’s campaign had financial troubles last summer, applying for federal matching funds and then using it as collateral to secure a loan kept his campaign alive. This status also got him on the ballot in several states without having to spend money on seeking signatures like other candidates have had to do. Now that it his campaign not only alive but kicking and he’s about to become the Republican nominee, he has money pouring in to his campaign and doesn’t want to have to abide by the $50 million limis set as a condition of these funds. If the FEC finds that McCain is indeed in this system, he will effectively have to stop campaigning until the beginning of September.

Lucky for him the FEC doesn’t have a full slate of commissioners at the moment and can’t make an official decision. So it looks like McCain will likely get away with this without suffering immediate consequences. Does this make you angry? It should! McCain paints himself as a “maverick” but he’s just another Bush Republican who thinks he’s above the rules.