Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Challenge Legality of IRS Regulations as Failing to Properly Limit Campaign Activity by 501(c)(4) Organizations

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Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center filed a petition today with the Internal Revenue Service challenging the legality of IRS regulations that define whether an organization that conducts campaign activity is entitled to obtain or maintain tax-exempt status as a section 501(c)(4) organization. Under Section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act, “Each agency shall […]

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Reform Groups Call for Outside Counsel to Complete Ethics Committee Investigation of Representative Maxine Waters; Groups Urge Strengthened Role for OCE

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Campaign Legal Center – Common Cause – CREWDemocracy 21 – League of Women Voters  Public Citizen – U.S. PIRG Enclosed for your information is a letter sent today by reform groups to the Chairman and Ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee in light of recent press reports indicating severe "partisan dysfunction and accusations of […]

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Open Secrets: Several Presidential Campaigns Rev Small-Dollar Donor Engines, While Others Sputter

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By Michael Beckel  President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign made waves for the sheer volume and magnitude of individuals who gave him small-dollar donations — and who repeated this giving during the course of the two-year primary and general election campaign.  As he runs for re-election, Obama is hoping to recapture the magic, and early indications suggest he is. […]

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Super-PACs and Dark Money: ProPublica’s Guide to the New World of Campaign Finance

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By Kim Barker and Marian Wang The nation is gearing up for yet another "most expensive election in history," the quadrennial exercise in which mind-numbing amounts of money pour into the political system. But this year promises more than just record spending-more money will be flowing from more players with more opportunities to hide the source. […]

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Roll Call: Public Funds Dwindle for 2012 Campaigns

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         By Amanda Becker          Roll Call Staff           The federal program providing public money to presidential campaigns is dying. Going into next year’s elections, taxpayer participation is at an all-time low, the funds available are a pittance compared with what candidates can raise themselves, and the only candidates eligible this year […]

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Brief Filed in Van Hollen Lawsuit Challenging FEC Regulation That Eviscerated the Contribution Disclosure Requirements for Electioneering Ads

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Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) filed a brief last Friday with the federal district court in Washington, DC in a lawsuit he filed in April against the Federal Election Commission. The Van Hollen lawsuit challenges as contrary to law an FEC regulation that has eviscerated the existing contribution disclosure requirements for groups that run “electioneering […]

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Washington Post Column by E.J. Dionne: The Supreme Court’s continuing defense of the powerful

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The United States Supreme Court now sees its central task as comforting the already comfortable and afflicting those already afflicted. If you are a large corporation or a political candidate backed by lots of private money, be assured that the court’s conservative majority will be there for you, solicitous of your needs and ready to […]

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FEC Rules Correctly Today that Federal Officeholders and Candidates, and National Party Officials, Cannot Solicit Unlimited Contributions for Super PACs

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer By a vote of 6-0, the Federal Election Commission ruled correctly today that federal officeholders and candidates, and national party officials, are prohibited by law from soliciting unlimited contributions for Super PACs, which spend money to influence federal elections. The ruling came in the form of a response […]

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FEC Hearing Thursday on Advisory Opinion Request Regarding Legality of Federal Officeholders and Candidates Raising Unlimited Contributions for Super PACs

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On May 19, 2009, Majority PAC and House Majority PAC, two Super PACs established to raise unlimited contributions and make independent expenditures in support of Senate and House Democratic candidates, submitted an Advisory Opinion (AO) request to the Federal Election Commission.   In their request, the two pro-Democratic PACs asked the FEC for an advisory […]

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