Buying Time 2000, a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU showed that 86% of group sponsored ads aired within 60 days of the 2000 election were not designed to make a case about an issue but rather to elect or defeat a particular candidate.  “The big difference between regular political ads run by candidates and the sham issue ads: Ads by outside groups were far more negative than those run by candidates, presumably because candidates can be held to account for what they put on television... If money plays too big a role in the election process, money’s influence will begin corrupting the way we govern ourselves.  In one decision after another, the Supreme Court has held that because reducing corruption is a legitimate public goal, Congress has the right a right to regulate political contributions.... The House vote on the Shays-Meehan reform bill will test whether Congress wants to respond to the corporatization of American politics exemplified by the Enron scandal....  If the House rejects this bill or amends it to death, it is sending only one message: Money rules.”  E.J. Dionne 2/9/02

However, the ultimate answer appears to be substantial public financing and free broadcasting time....
The attempted 60 day restriction on issue ads only applies to “soft money” so the NRA and other groups will likely save their hard money contributions for the last days of the campaign.  The bill also does not require anonymous groups to disclose their identities except in that 60 day period.  Moreover, the restriction only apply to broadcast, not phone banks or mailings which can be the most effective tools to influence an election.  Moreover, the House stripped from the Shays-Meehan bill a provision requiring broadcasters to sell ad time to candidates at a rate no higher than they charge their best customers.  A study showed that the average cost of a 30 second spot tripled from the end of August to the end of October 2000 as broadcasters gouged candidates for television time.  In a survey of 146 countries, “what is exceptional about America is its not having free broadcasting.  Paul Taylor of the Alliance for Better Campaigns has been trying to “require that broadcasters provide free air time for candidate issue discussion before every election as a condition of the free licenses they receive to operate on our public airwaves... and stop viewing the fundamental act of democracy as a cash cow.”  David Broder