...again in its reversal of the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling on Montana’s campaign finance laws this past year, the Court has greatly enhanced the influence corporations and unions have on the political process. “Super PACs” with unlimited budgets have arisen, which, though supposedly independent, almost always directly support individual political campaigns, often through undisclosed donors. These organizations seem to defy the very idea...
It is said that money talks, and indeed, individuals with great wealth want to influence this year’s election to serve their own purposes: Enter the Super PAC. Super Political Action Committees (super PACs) are a new paradigm in campaign finance that has arisen out of the controversial Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court case in 2010. The effect of the Court’s decision is that individuals, or individuals grouped togethe...
...on national policy. Allowing the same interest groups who finance candidates to run independent election communication perpetuating the corruption in the system. Even though the decision doesn’t fix the system, it does force PACs to disclose their donors, but unfortunately, non-profit organizations registered with the IRS as 501c(4)s are allowed to donate to PACs without disclosure of their 501c(4) donors. This anonymity prevents the public from...
...Barrett by a staggering margin, thanks in part to out-of-state conservative supporters. Romney seems poised to receive the lion’s share of corporate and Wall Street money (much of which will likely be channeled through Super PACs), while Obama will be aided by Hollywood, the green lobby, and his newest allies – gay rights advocates. Much of the money from both candidates will likely be funneled into the three most important battleground states:...
photo from Wikimedia Commons With the Republican and Democratic National Conventions out of the way, the long-predicted political advertising spending spree for the lead up to November 6has finally gotten underway. More than $3 billion is expected to be spent on various types of ads (TV, radio, robocalls, mailers, and so on), an increase of $500 million over 2008. The Kantar/Campaign Media Analysis Group reports that as of early September, can...
.... This health care policy is currently unpopular with the Floridian elderly, only 39 percent of whom are in support of the law. It is likely that Florida will be bombarded with ads from Romney’s campaign (and associated Super PACs) that attempt to portray so-called “Obamacare” as expensive and detrimental to senior citizens. Obama’s camp could attempt to sidestep the debate entirely; instead, they seem determined to change public perception of th...
...uld win. THE INTERNET The incumbent senator I was running against, Caesar Trunzo, was about 80 years old—I, on the other hand, was 25 at the time. Trunzo could raise money the traditional way from special interest groups and PACS at a ferocious clip. My opponent collected high-dollar checks, while I ended up raising smaller amounts from a wider group of newer donors that added up. The internet, however, did allow me to reach friends from student...
...ome in amounts greater than $2,500. I certainly would not be surprised if those large-sum contributions arrive in even greater numbers now that Romney has the GOP’s confidence. One also cannot count out the impact that “Super PACs” will have in the upcoming election. Although the election is still far away, pundits and analysts predict it will be a close race involving derisive attacks funded by major interest groups. As a matter of fact, both si...
...arren… that woman is not Cherokee), is actually much more than it’s modest candidates. It is an example of civil campaigning. Early on in the cycle, both candidates signed a pledge that stopped outside political groups (Super PACs, interest groups, etc.) from running political ads in the election. If a candidate wants to say something about his/her opponent, he’s going to have to do it himself/herself. Attack ads come from the candidates, not sha...
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