Despite Hedge-Fund Fund-raisers, Clinton’s Camp Says She’s the Original Elizabeth Warren. Is it possible for a truly populist candidate to raise enough money to run a serious campaign for president?
Jeb, Hillary, and the Money Primary - The New Yorker. In today’s political news: Presidential candidates, money, Wall Street billionaires, and foreign governments.
If you want to read an uplifting story about Jeffersonian democracy in action, this post isn’t for you. If you want to be reminded of how American politics actually works, keep reading. First up: Jeb Bush. For a couple of months now, journalists have been going along with the fiction that he isn’t yet fully committed to the 2016 Presidential campaign, and is merely in the preparatory stage.
Research - Get Money Out Action. The Supreme Court’s Billion-Dollar Mistake by David Cole. Five years ago this week, in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court decided to allow unlimited amounts of corporate spending in political campaigns. How important was that decision? At the time, some said criticism of the decision was overblown, and that fears that it would give outsize influence to powerful interests were unfounded. Now, the evidence is in, and the results are devastating.
To coincide with the decision’s fifth anniversary, eight public interest organizations—the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause, Public Citizen, Demos, U.S. Some of this money has come directly from the kind of corporate money at issue in Citizens United. Much of the newly unrestricted funding came from so-called “super PACs,” political action committees that raise money exclusively for “independent expenditures,” usually television and radio advertisements. It is also a natural consequence of the Supreme Court’s faulty logic in Citizens United and related cases. Midterm Myths, Emotional Algorithms, and More. Public Radio Host Matt Miller Loses An Election. A Guide to Political Donations - Interactive Feature. The spending race - TV ads in the presidential campaign. 2012 Presidential Campaign Finance Explorer. Economic Inequality and Political Representation. When Did Companies Become People? Excavating The Legal Evolution.
Volunteers at the Lincoln Memorial help roll up a giant banner printed with the Preamble to the Constitution during an October 2010 demonstration against the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption itoggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Volunteers at the Lincoln Memorial help roll up a giant banner printed with the Preamble to the Constitution during an October 2010 demonstration against the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. Rethinking Campaign Finance. In 2006, shortly after being elected to Congress — indeed, as he recalls it, before he had even taken his oath of office — John Sarbanes was approached by several Washington lobbyists.
“They offered to do a fund-raiser for me,” he said. “I thought, ‘I don’t want to start down this road.’ ” So he put the lobbyists off. Still, it got Sarbanes, a Democrat from Maryland (and the eldest son of the state’s former senator, Paul Sarbanes) thinking — obsessing, really — about the role of money in politics. As he spent more time in Congress, he watched the insidious influence of money. People hate politics. So why is nobody talking about campaign finance reform? Mitt Romney, right, and Scott Brown stand at Bittersweet Farm shortly before Romney endorsed Brown in Stratham, N.H. on July 2.
(Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) After more than a year of campaigning, New Hampshire Senate candidate Jim Rubens (R) has decided on his closing message: the "disconnect between voters in New Hampshire and politicians in Washington, D.C. " Campaign finance reform would be a wasted effort. Flickr/Stephen Melkisethian.
Some rights reserved. The still fresh McCutcheon v FEC Supreme Court decision, like the January 2010 Citizens United, has again set off the rage of activists and reformers—who call it nothing less than the privatization of government or the end of the republic! Indeed, removing aggregate contribution limits does for individual donors what Citizens United did for corporations years earlier, make it easier to influence elections. Grant Edwards sur Twitter : "#CampaignFinanceProblems identified in today's #PoliticsSPS class - did we omit/overlook any? #CrowdsourcedLearning.
Small Donors Can Outweigh Wealthy Few. Yesterday, the Albany Times Union published an op-ed opposing the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption’s common-sense recommendations.
Authors Jeffrey Milyo and David Primo, both affiliated with organizations long opposed to campaign finance reforms, argue against public financing. But they avoid addressing the Commission’s most important reason for recommending an overhaul of the state’s campaign finance system: widespread (but often perfectly legal) corruption that occurs in a political system dominated by the need for big money to run a viable campaign. The Moreland Commission based its report on independent investigation and a wide variety of expert sources. It provided several strong reasons for why an overhaul of our campaign finance system is necessary.
The Benefits of Public Financing for New York State. April 2, 2012 · by Sean Collins Crossposted from the Brennan Center for Justice’s blog.
It was originally posted by Jonathan Backer, Research Associate with the Center. At a recent Brennan Center event, panelists offered a variety of valuable perspectives on the urgent need for New York State to adopt public financing and comprehensive campaign finance reform. Wealthy political donors seize on new latitude to give to unlimited candidates. Andrew Sabin gave Republicans so much money in 2012 that he accidentally went over a limit on how much individuals could donate to federal candidates and party committees.
Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram on Twitter: "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Maxwell Abram sur Twitter : "#PoliticsSPS discussion... Citizens Rising Anti-Corruption Weekend, Sept 19–21, MIT. Zephyr Teachout Extended Interview Video - September 17, 2014 - The Daily Show. People hate politics. So why is nobody talking about campaign finance reform? Campaign Finance Reformer Launches Super PAC to End Super PACs. Rethinking Campaign Finance. Citizen Koch. Campaignlegalcenter.org. What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing. To see how easy it is for a dark money group to ignore the Internal Revenue Service, look no further than the loftily named Government Integrity Fund.
A Few Data Points on the Supreme Court’s Donor-Limit Decision. The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits. For 2014, the overall limit was $123,200. There was a lower limit of $74,600 for donations to PACs and party committees (of which no more than $48,600 could be given to a nonnational party committee). And donors could give, at most, $48,600 to all candidates. At this point, the court hasn’t touched the limits to individual candidates. Supreme Court Strikes Down Overall Political Donation Cap. Photo WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday continued its abolition of limits on election spending, striking down a decades-old cap on the total amount any individual can contribute to federal candidates in a two-year election cycle.
The ruling, issued near the start of a campaign season, will very likely increase the role money plays in American politics. FAQ - NHRebellion. The following content represents a series of frequently asked questions which were presented to us during our initial walk in January 2014. If you have additional specific questions you would like answered as we prepare for future walks please contact us at info@nhrebellion.org. What’s the walk about? In January, 1999, at the age of 88, Doris Haddock (aka, “Granny D”), started a walk from LA to DC with a sign on her chest that read “CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM.” Six months after she started her walk, John McCain launched his run for president in New Hampshire with a speech in Bedford that attacked the “corruption” that the existing system of campaign finance had produced.
Podcast: The Hidden Power of Dark Money. Midterm races are approaching, and tax returns continue to yield telling tidbits from the 2012 election. Who Controls the Kochs’ Political Network? ASMI, SLAH and TOHE. Big Sky, Big Money. What’s the Future for Campaign Finance Reform? November 19, 2012, 5:39 pm ET · by Azmat Khan Studies suggest that Americans are concerned about the influence of wealthy donors in politics. Contribution Limits Chart 2011-12. A Guide to Political Donations - Interactive Feature. Bachmann's Lack of Big Donors Could Hinder Campaign. As Political Groups Push Envelope, FEC Gridlock Gives ‘De Facto Green Light’
Reform Efforts.