“Our Campaign Finance Frankenstein; How the Supreme Court built a monster out of America’s campaign finance law.”
Anthony Gaughan in US News.
Category Archives: campaign finance
“Cruz’s silent super PACs a growing worry for campaign”
Sen. Cruz’s campaign uses @Politico to communicate with its Super PAC.
“Your State And Local Elections Are Now A Super PAC Playground”
Paul Blumenthal for HuffPo:
he influence of billionaires in the post-Citizens United era is in no way limited to the 2016 presidential and congressional elections.
While the super-wealthy dominate those races, local and state elections in 2015 are also attracting… Continue reading
“How Jeb Bush may have just outsourced a key part of his campaign”
The Fix:
The problem for the PAC is that it can’t coordinate legally with Bush on where to spend that fortune. It has to do its own thing, making educated guesses about where and how to advertise or otherwise… Continue reading
“Wisconsin Legislature should reject secrecy bill”
Daniel Weiner and Brent Ferguson have written this oped for the Milwaukee Journal-Seninel:
SB 292 breaks sharply from Wisconsin’s tradition of openness and transparency, allowing big donors to influence government without public scrutiny. Current law requires all outside groups (such… Continue reading
“A Board Member’s Guide to Corporate Political Spending”
Constance Bagley, Bruce Freed and Karl Sandstrom write for the Harvard Business Review.
“Election Board official: ‘Ignorance’ isn’t an excuse for campaign violations”
WNDU:
Election Board officials say “ignorance” is no excuse for failing to comply with state finance laws, but after a handful of candidates got in trouble for violations, the board opted not to prosecute.
Wednesday, the Elkhart County Election… Continue reading
“FEC Deadlock Signaled by Rival Drafts on Super PACs”
Ken Doyle for Bloomberg BNA:
The Federal Election Commission appeared to be moving toward a deadlocked vote in a ruling over the legality of activities by single-candidate super PACs in the 2016 campaign.
Commissioners postponed a final vote following a… Continue reading
“‘The American people are fed up’: Forum addresses influence of money in politics”
Billings Gazette:
Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, whose biography is called “Shooting from the Lip,” gave a crowd of about 150 people gathered at the Billings Public Library on Thursday a good dose of just how the book got… Continue reading
Bauer on the Public Financing Question
Here:
In the meantime, there are steps that could conceivably be taken with bipartisan support. Current public financing proposals would also restore the tax credit for smaller individual donations (maybe even a voucher program for the same purpose). This… Continue reading
“Ted Cruz ‘Super PAC’ Deploys Email Subject Line in Effort to Reach New Donors”
NYT on Super PAC email marketing given FEC restrictions on a Super PAC using a candidate’s name.
“Outside Spending by Special Interests Floods Judicial Elections at Record Percentage, Report Finds”
Release:
Special-interest groups accounted for a record-high 29 percent of total spending in state judicial races in the 2013-14 election cycle, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Justice at… Continue reading
“F.E.C. Panel Delays a Decision on Spending in ’16 Races”
NYT:
The Federal Election Commission put off a decision Thursday on just how far so-called super PACs — a dominant force so far in the 2016 campaign — can go in raising millions of dollars for politicians.
The inaction… Continue reading