Jessie Wynn also lent her voice to recorded messages phoned to voters that delivered a similar message. Kimble's desperate tactic was ugly but ineffective; Wynn was re-elected with 88 percent of the vote.

Many Democratic African-American congressmen, like Wynn, enjoy safe districts -- Wynn's is 58.4 percent black -- and easy campaigns that can withstand such tawdry attacks. But another factor inoculating them from attacks is Democratic Party largesse. Much of that largesse comes in the form of "soft money," the unregulated unlimited party cash spent on various efforts made on the behalf of candidates -- and that has been targeted by the recent campaign finance reform bill that passed the Senate and is now coming up in the House. And for that reason, a majority of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus are wondering about whether the reform proposal is really in their best interest.

Using soft money for get-out-the-vote and voter registration activities "is the way many of the members of the black caucus think elections are won, even if their districts are safe," says one Democratic strategist. "They think, 'I have got to turn my people out.'" A candidate like Wynn, they will argue, has already built such familiarity within his district through these activities he can withstand the occasional ugly attack.

"It's difficult for black members in safe districts to raise money," says one black member of Congress, speaking on condition of anonymity. "In many ways, we rely on soft money to provide us with resources toward the ends of our campaigns." Such resources are needed for various voter education, registration, and get-out-the-vote Election Day activities, the member says. "Our white colleagues in safe districts are able to amass these huge war chests, but it's tougher for African-American and Latino members [of Congress] to do so. Even groups that are reliable, like unions, don't shower us with the same attention. So soft money is the way for us to campaign."

Indeed, the Center for Responsive Politics reports that the average House candidate raised $919,000, with the average black caucus member taking in just more than half of that figure, or $479,000. But those numbers are misleading in some respects, and it is unclear that members of the black caucus are as dependent upon soft money as some would have you believe.

Months ago, as the campaign finance reform proposal offered by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and John McCain, R-Ariz., passed the Senate, a McCain-Feingold strategist chided the Dickensian surnames of the House Republicans lining up to oppose the bill: Ney, DeLay and Doolittle.

But while the House Republicans leadership remains steadfastly opposed to the House version -- offered by Reps. Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Marty Meehan, D-Mass. -- the greater threat perhaps comes from the Wynn and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the vast majority of whom supported the bill in previous years. Out of 38 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. estimates that only 15 to 20 will join him in supporting the Shays-Meehan bill, which will ban soft money and increase the hard money dollar limits from $1,000 to $2,000 per donor per candidate. And, Ford says, that's the good news.

"Two weeks ago we only had three or four supporters, so this is an improvement," Ford says.

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