On Tuesday, the Republican Party smashed soft-money fund-raising records by wooing corporate chieftains at a dinner headlined by President Bush. About $30 million, the lion’s share of it soft money, was collected. If any further proof were needed of the importance of the campaign finance reform that Congress passed in March, the dinner provided it. […]
An article appeared today in Roll Call entitled "New Ethics Plan Already Under Fire." The article begins, ”More than six months past their deadline, leaders of a special task force established to overhaul the House ethics process remain coy about the group’s work, even as reform advocates consider attacking a forthcoming proposal as too weak.” […]
National JournalHealth Reform’s Unending Money WarBy Eliza Newlin Carney March 1, 2010 It’s too early to say how the messy, protracted health care debate will end. But one thing is already clear: It’s generated record lobbying expenditures. And like health care itself, the lobbying battle over health reform just keeps costing more. Health-care-related lobbying and […]
The nation needs a new sheriff for federal elections. Without enforcement stronger than the Federal Election Commission is currently structured or inclined to provide, hard-won campaign-finance reform, including the key ban on soft money, will be meaningless. The nation’s campaign-finance watchdog should be independent of political parties to ensure that it works in the interest […]
An editorial appeared today in The Washington Post entitled, "Campaign Finance Success." The editorial begins, ”The McCain-Feingold campaign finance law was supposed to be — or so its critics warned — a body blow to political parties. Starved of the six- and seven-figure ‘soft money’ checks to which they had become addicted, opponents said, the […]
For all the headlines about the Tea Party and blind voter anger, the most disturbing story of this year’s election is embodied in an odd combination of numbers and letters: 501(c)(4). That is the legal designation for the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive […]
The Washington PostFEC Nomination Impasse Stalls Disclosure of Bundling DataAgency Cannot Set New Rules for Fundraising by LobbyistsBy Paul KaneApril 4, 2008 The stalemate over the Federal Election Commission’s nominating process, which already has crippled the agency’s ability to uphold existing campaign laws, is indefinitely delaying the implementation of a new rule designed to shine […]
Three House members got word the other day that investigators have recommended that the ethics committee delve into their fund-raising from Wall Street donors — lucrative labors that happened to coincide precisely with some big votes on reforming Wall Street. Five other members were cleared in the same inquiry, raising the question of exactly what […]
By: Jeanne Cummings and Chris Frates Democrats may be going out of their way to say they aren’t anti-business, but business is gearing up to demonstrate that it’s anti-Democrats – at least when it comes to members of the party’s liberal wing. The latest blatant signs of hostility come from coal executives who are considering starting […]
The New York TimesInterest Groups Step Up Efforts in a Tight RaceBy Jim Rutenberg and Michael LuoSeptember 16, 2008 After largely staying on the sidelines, the types of independent groups that so affected the 2004 presidential campaign are flooding back as players in the final sprint to the election this fall, financing provocative messages on […]
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