News
Roll Call Rules of the Game: Obama’s Nonprofit Carries on Dubious Tradition By Eliza Newlin Carney A Democratic rising star who campaigned on a platform of sweeping ethics changes draws fire once in power, after his top campaign donors bankroll a secretive nonprofit promoting his agenda. Sound familiar? It’s a story that should ring a […]
The Washington Post Pay-to-play politics reach the Oval Office By Editorial Board– They will now disclose the names of those who donate $250 or more to the new advocacy group Organizing for Action, which is intended to advance the president’s second-term agenda. Jim Messina, the group’s national chairman, promises to post the donors’ names and […]
According to an op-ed by Jim Messina, the National Chairman for Organizing for Action, published March 7, 2013 on CNN.com, “[E]very donor who gives $250 or more to this organization will be disclosed on the website with the exact amount they give on a quarterly basis. We have now decided not to accept contributions from […]
Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer White House press secretary Jay Carney today reportedly said at his daily briefing, “Any notion that there is a set price for a meeting with the president of the United States is just wrong.” Really? So what does Mr. Carney make of the following published reports? An article […]
Today, Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center in filing comments with the Federal Election Commission supporting a draft rule interpreting disclosure requirements for political committee expenditures and urging the Commission to require even more detailed disclosure of payments by a committee’s vendor to subvendors on behalf of that committee.
The New York Times The White House Joins the Cash Grab By: Editorial Board March 3, 2013 It is tempting to applaud the nonprofit group now spending nearly $100,000 on ads to pressure Republican lawmakers to accept gun-control measures. The group is fighting a well-financed and powerful corporate gun lobby that has never hesitated to […]
Today, Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center and Public Citizen in filing an amici brief in Wagner v. FEC opposing an effort to overturn the 70-year-old ban on campaign contributions by federal contractors. The case is currently on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia after a federal district […]
MSNBC: Now with Alex Wagner Wertheimer: OFA ‘creates the opportunity to buy corrupting influence’ The MSNBC NOW with Alex Wagner panel discussed the recent criticism of OFA about access for big spenders to the president, and Democracy 21’s Frank Wertheimer described President Obama’s use of OFA to advance his agenda as “outsourcing” a portion of […]
The Washington Post Obama’s new political group to lure unlimited donations By Tom Hamburger– In close consultation with President Obama, two of his top political strategists are designing an ambitious new organization funded by donations from wealthy individuals and corporations aimed at making political and legislative gains at the federal and state levels. The fledgling […]
Supreme Court Could Create System of Legalized Bribery in Washington Depending on its Decision in McCutcheon Case By: Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer There are enormous stakes for the country in the campaign finance case the Supreme Court agreed to review this week. If the Supreme Court strikes down the existing limits on the aggregate […]
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