According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: Candidate-specific Super PACs are a dangerous fraud on the American people. These vehicles are designed to launder into a candidate’s campaign the very kind of unlimited contributions that the campaign finance laws have long prohibited candidates from receiving because they are corrupting. Candidate-specific Super PACs provide a false […]
On October 28, 2011, American Crossroads, a federally registered political committee backed by Republican political operative Karl Rove, submitted an Advisory Opinion Request (AOR) to the FEC. The AOR brazenly requested the Commission to find that ads by American Crossroads to promote candidates that would be “fully coordinated” with the candidates and would even have […]
In a landmark decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld North Carolina’s ban on campaign contributions from lobbyists to candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly or the Council of State. The contribution ban, upheld in Preston v. Leake, appears to be the toughest restriction on campaign giving by lobbyists in the country. […]
American Crossroads is the brainchild of political operative Karl Rove. On October 28, 2011, the Rove inspired organization asked the FEC to declare that expenditures by American Crossroads for TV ads to promote certain candidates that would be “fully coordinated” with those candidates and that would even have those candidates appearing in the ads are […]
By Eliza Newlin Carney The website of Americans Elect, a nonpartisan group that is set out to mount an alternative presidential candidate in 2012, exhorts visitors: “You have the power to help break gridlock and change politics as usual.” But campaign finance watchdogs complain that, far from changing the status quo, Americans Elect may be […]
According to the BNA Money and Politics Report, “the Democratic and Republican parties have received $35.4 million—about $17.7 million each—in public funding to pay for next year’s presidential nominating conventions, the Federal Election Commission announced Nov. 8.” It is more than ironic that at the same time Republican leaders in Congress are trying to kill […]
By Marian Wang As the presidential campaign swings into high gear, rivers of cash are flowing in to support the candidates, and experts are predicting billions will be raised by next fall. The likely record-breaking donations are thanks in large part to new groups that are taking in unlimited dollars and exploring the outer limits of […]
Congress rarely remembers that it is responsible for overseeing the Federal Election Commission — the party-hack-ridden agency that enables campaign abuses. The House elections subcommittee has now summoned commission members to a rare hearing on Thursday about its work. Rather than a severe grilling, it’s more likely to be a meet-and-greet smile among professional backslappers. The need for a vigilant F.E.C. […]
By Peter H. Stone Questions about Herman Cain’s financial support from a tax-exempt charity Herman Cain’s campaign faces questions about tens of thousands of dollars in expenses that were paid by Prosperity USA, an organization claiming 501(c)(3) charity status with the IRS that is barred by law from political activities. The conservative grassroots goliath, Americans […]
Today the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, filed comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), urging the Commission to reject an advisory opinion request submitted by the Constitutional Conservatives Fund PAC (“CCF”), Senator Michael Shumway Lee’s (R-UT) Leadership PAC seeking to fundraise in a manner clearly prohibited by existing law. Senator Lee’s Leadership PAC asks the Commission […]
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