Category Archives: campaign finance

“Opening the books on political giving by Comcast and others”

October 15, 2016, 8:10 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Philly.com: Among the more than 4,000 political donations totaling $12 million that Comcast Corp. made in 2014 and 2015, one recipient stands out: the Republican Party of Florida. As Comcast ran cable systems in Miami and its Universal theme-park subsidiary… Continue reading

“Libertarians and Greens Can Win—Even If They Lose”

October 14, 2016, 8:22 amalternative voting systems, campaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Derek Muller has written this WSJ oped, with the subhead: “Should the Johnson or Stein campaigns earn 5% of the popular vote, their parties could receive public funding in 2020.” It seems odd to me that Derek’s post does not… Continue reading

“What If Trump Won’t Concede?”

October 13, 2016, 2:27 pmcampaign finance, election administrationRick Hasen

Noah Rothman for Commentary.

“Hunter pushes Coast Guard to lease or buy ship owned by top campaign donor”

October 13, 2016, 8:24 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

San Diego Union-Tribune: Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has been pushing the U.S. Coast Guard to buy or lease a polar ice-breaking ship owned by one of his top campaign contributors, although the Coast Guard has repeatedly said the vessel doesn’t… Continue reading

Disgraceful If True Dept: “Did Right-Wing Group Citizens United Target Dementia Sufferers for Fundraising?”

October 13, 2016, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Daily Beast: And it has a history of sending out mailers that raise serious ethical questions—and that may prey on senior citizens with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Citizens United, David Bossie, and the Trump campaign did not respond to multiple requests… Continue reading

“Supreme Court candidates suggest their opponents have been bought”

October 11, 2016, 12:14 pmcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Montana Standard: But the spike in spending on judicial campaigns has heightened public concerns over whether the justices who are elected can do that. More than $1.1 million has been raised by Juras, Sandefur and organizations supporting their campaigns, according… Continue reading

“Kobach: Trump comments ‘pale in comparison’ to issues facing country”

October 11, 2016, 8:58 amcampaign finance, campaigns, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Bryan Lowry reports: Kobach, who made no public comments about the tape over the weekend, said he remains committed to supporting Trump. He cited issues such as border security and the national debt as the reason. “These issues are… Continue reading

How Big Money Sways Policy Even When It Isn’t Spent

October 11, 2016, 8:42 amcampaign finance, campaigns, lobbyingRick Hasen

I made this point in Plutocrats United, and here it is in relation to opposition to the American-US Air airline merger, via ProPublica: While labor was the friendly face of the merger, Tom Horne, the former Arizona attorney general,… Continue reading

“Wikileaks Emails Purport to Reveal Ties Between Clinton Campaign, Super PAC”

October 11, 2016, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: WikiLeaks’ latest release of what the website says are emails taken from the Clinton campaign reveals the close ties between campaign and its allied super PAC, illustrating a growing trend this election cycle. The emails—whose authenticity the Clinton campaign… Continue reading

“Super PAC Megadonors Are Giving More Than Ever In 2016”

October 11, 2016, 7:28 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Paul Blumenthal for HuffPo: Overall, super PACs have raised approximately $955 million this year, according to FEC reports, far more than they did at this point in the 2012 campaign. What’s more, the biggest contributors are responsible for a… Continue reading

“Dem ‘Dark Money’ org @ProgressNowCO boasts it took out GOP gov candidate ‘without any fingerprints'”

October 10, 2016, 3:46 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Great find by Ken Vogel showing how those on the left are taking full advantage of the deregulating campaign finance system created by Republicans.

“WikiLeaks hack reveals cozy relationship between Clinton campaign, super PAC”

October 10, 2016, 1:57 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Jonathan Swan for The Hill.

“Juanita Broaddrick’s other debate-night claim could be trouble for Breitbart News”

October 10, 2016, 7:32 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

The Fix: Seated next to Donald Trump at a pre-debate campaign event Sunday night, Juanita Broaddrick repeatedher charge that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978 — an accusation she has contradicted under oath and which the former president denies.… Continue reading

Clinton in Private Speech Complains About Citizens United and the Supreme Court’s Money in Politics Cases

October 7, 2016, 3:41 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Wikileaks released some private speeches of Clinton’s that she’d been refusing to release. And this, not really different from her public position, was in the tidbits: