Washington, D.C. politics are like a fun house mirror. No one ends up looking handsome. That’s why people have to be careful about making accusations without evidence. About criticizing the players as well as the results. It’s tough to see what is happening in that warped reflection. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have high…
Tag: campaign finance
Trump raised more money from small donors than Clinton and Sanders combined. America has a problem.
The Campaign Finance Institute just released an analysis of FEC filings for the 2016 election. You may remember Bernie Sanders bragging about the money he was raking in from small donors at an average of $27 each. Well, Hillary Clinton beat him in small donations. And Trump beat them both – combined. Not only…
States Target Politically Active Nonprofits
Tax-exempt groups that spent hundreds of millions on the 2012 elections without disclosing their donors have stirred no response from federal regulators but have drawn the ire of state officials who are moving aggressively to restrict them. From California to Idaho, Montana to Maine and New York, state attorneys general and election officials are fighting…
Mitt Romney: No campaign cash from teachers’ unions
It’s not unusual for Republicans to advocate limiting or eliminating campaign contributions from public employees unions. But in an election cycle where both candidates are raking in large fundraising hauls and super PACs backed by unlimited contributions from wealthy donors are surging, Romney offered a more robust criticism of the campaign finance system. Romney argued…
Obama Fundraising Edges Out Romney In August : NPR
President Obama and Democrats pulled slightly ahead of Mitt Romney and Republicans in monthly fundraising in August for the first time in four months. Obama raised more than $114 million in August, and Romney brought in just over $111 million. The two campaigns announced their fundraising numbers early Monday. It’s a sharp increase for Obama,…
Never Mind Super PACs: How Big Business Is Buying the Election
US law still bans foreign corporations from participating directly in elections. But after Citizens United, trade associations like API—whose influential members include foreign corporations—are free to spend as they wish, unburdened by disclosure requirements. And these groups have taken full advantage of their new freedoms. While other campaign committees, from labor unions to Super PACs, face…
Romney Bundler A Registered Foreign Agent For Hong Kong
Newly released lobbyist bundler disclosure records filed by the Mitt Romney campaign show that Tom Loeffler raised at least $17,500 in bundled contributions for the campaign over the first six months of 2012. Loeffler, a former Republican U.S. Representative from Texas and a lobbyist at Akin Gump represents a wide array domestic clients including USAA,…
Big Money And The Ballot Box
You wouldn’t think politicians would have any trouble raising enough money these days. The presidential race is expected to be a billion-dollar affair, and spending records have been shattered at the congressional level. But many candidates are being outgunned by superPACs and other outside groups with nearly unlimited funds at their disposal. Those dollars have…
Paul Ryan Suggests We Need To Shred America’s Safety Net Because Rich People Give Politicians Money
“Every other country in the world calls it bribery. We call it campaign financing.” “That’s BS,” a constituent told Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) during a town hall Friday. “I don’t think you or any of the rest of the politicians want to fix” it, the Wisconsinite declared as the crowd roared with applause. Ryan, however,…
In Digital Finance Race, Senate Uses Horse And Buggy
Checking a candidate’s contributors has become critical for understanding the candidate’s politics. It’s also easier than ever before with regular deadlines and electronic records — unless the legislator you are tracking is a member of the U.S. Senate. For more than a decade now, the Senate has kept itself exempt from rules other federal candidates…
Montana High Court Says Citizens United Does Not Apply In Big Sky State
The Montana Court vigorously upheld the state’s right to regulate how corporations can raise and spend money after a secretive Colorado corporation, Western Tradition Partnership, and a Montana sportsman’s group and local businessman sued to overturn a 1912 state law banning direct corporate spending on electoral campaigns. “Organizations like WTP that act as a conduit…
ACLU Challenge To Small Piece Of Campaign Finance Law May Lead To A Slippery Slope
The ACLU case, brought on behalf of three individuals holding contracts with the government, targets a provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 (FECA) that banned individuals who have direct contracts with the federal government from contributing to candidates running for federal office. This ban excludes employees of corporations that hold contracts with…