Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on the Dysfunctional Federal Election Commission and the Failure of President Obama to Nominate New Commissioners at Press Conference Held by Reform Groups

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The Federal Election Commission is itself a national campaign finance scandal.     It is widely recognized that the FEC is a dysfunctional agency that consistently refuses to enforce the federal campaign finance laws – laws enacted to prevent the corruption of federal officeholders and government decisions. A New York Times editorial this year (April 18, […]

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Reform Groups Call on President Obama to Address Dysfunctional FEC

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Reform groups held a press conference today to highlight the repeated failure of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to properly interpret and enforce the campaign finance laws and to call on President Barack Obama to nominate five new commissioners to fill the vacancies on the six-member FEC. Enclosed below is a letter from the groups sent to […]

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Americans Elect Press Conference Today: Democracy 21 President Challenges Americans Elect to Comply with Tax Laws and Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Americans Elect – holding a press conference today at the National Press Club – is an organization whose stated goal is “to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters—not the political system.” To accomplish this goal, Americans Elect already has qualified on a number of state […]

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Pre-FEC Oversight Hearing Press Conference Thursday: Good Government Groups to Urge Obama to Fix the Federal Election Commission

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With Major Election Year Approaching, Agency Is Needed to Enforce Campaign Finance Laws   WHAT:          Press conference by good government groups to highlight the failures of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and call on President Barack Obama to fill the vacancies on the FEC so the agency can adequately enforce campaign finance laws. This […]

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POLITICO Interview with Democracy 21 President: Outside Cash in 2012

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Arena ChatOctober 30, 2011 David Mark: POLITICO over the past week examined the role of money in politics. Video series guests included former DCCC Chairman Martin Frost, former FEC Chairmen Michael Toner and Brad Smith, and Trevor Potter, lead lawyer for the McCain ’08 campaign. To round out the discussion I chatted with Democracy 21 President and […]

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Center for Public Integrity: Fine line between politics and issues spending by secretive 501(c)(4) groups

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By Peter H. Stone  The conservative American Action Network, a leading independent player in last year’s election, poured $26 million — out of some $30 million in spending — from secret donors into political ads and activities to help Republican candidates. Set up in 2009, the network enjoys a prized tax status from the Internal Revenue […]

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on Illegality of Leadership “Super PAC” Proposed by Senator Mike Lee

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Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has filed an Advisory Opinion Request with the Federal Election Commission asking whether his Leadership PAC can raise unlimited contributions to spend on independent expenditures. The answer to this question is open and shut: the federal campaign finance laws clearly and unequivocally prohibit the Leadership PAC of a Member of Congress […]

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Campaign Legal Center & Democracy 21 File Brief in Appeal of Decision Overturning Century-Old Law Banning Corporate Contributions to Candidates & Parties

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Today, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, filed an amici brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in U.S. v Danielczyk, an appeal of a controversial district court decision overturning the century-old federal restriction on corporate contributions to candidates and political parties.  The corporate contribution restriction overturned in the case […]

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Statement of Democracy 21 General Counsel Donald J. Simon: Newly Formed Herman Cain Super PAC Using Illegal Name

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According to press reports, a new Super PAC was formed yesterday to support Herman Cain’s presidential campaign.  The name of the Super PAC is “Americans for Herman Cain.”  According to the PAC’s website (americansforhermancain.com), the PAC has registered with the FEC under this name as a “non-connected political committee” that “supports the Federal candidacy of […]

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Elite Donors Do Double Duty: Presidential Super PACs Attract Wealthy Donors Who Have Maxed Out to Candidates

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  During the second quarter of 2011, more than 50 individuals donated the legal maximum to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and also dug into their pockets deeper and made additional contributions to Restore Our Future, a candidate-specific Super PAC formed to promote Romney’s campaign for president.   A new analysis by Democracy 21, the […]

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