News

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Raising Concerns about New 501(c)(4) Tax-Exempt Group Formed by Former Obama White House Officials

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Bill Burton, former White House deputy press secretary to President Obama and Sean Sweeney a former top aide of previous White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have announced the creation of two new groups, Priorities USA, a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt group and Priorities USA Action, a section 527 political organization. The two groups clearly have […]

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Democracy 21 President Challenges Absurd Attacks by Chamber of Commerce Lobbyist on Campaign Finance Disclosure as an “Alice-in Wonderland” Approach to Transparency

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In a New York Times article today, Chamber of Commerce lobbyist R. Bruce Josten is quoted as saying that an Executive Order being considered by the White House to require government contractors to disclose their campaign finance activities "is meant to have a chilling effect." According to the article, "Mr. Josten said that the order […]

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Van Hollen Lawsuit Challenges FEC Regulations as Contrary to Law and Responsible for Eviscerating Donor Disclosure

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Successful Court Challenge by Representative Van Hollen Would Provide Disclosure in Future Elections of Secret Contributions Funding Electioneering CommunicationsBy Non-profit Groups and Others Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) filed a lawsuit today against the Federal Election Commission challenging as contrary to law an FEC regulation that has improperly allowed nonprofit 501(c)(4) advocacy groups, 501(c)(6) business […]

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Washington Post: Adapting to campaign-finance rulings, Democrats build big-spending network

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By Dan Eggen The first sign that the ground had shifted in political fundraising came last year, when conservative groups quickly took advantage of new court rulings to dramatically outspend their liberal rivals. Now comes the next tremor, as Democratic activists finalize plans for an entirely new political infrastructure in 2012. A network of liberal […]

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Slate: Free Speech for Really Rich Guys

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The Supreme Court finds a cause worth fighting for. By Dahlia Lithwick There are probably only about 10 guys in America who are cheerfully unconcerned about the influence of multimillionaires on elections. One of them is Charles Koch. David Koch is another, as is Karl Rove. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and the guy with […]

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For Second Time RNC Attacks on Campaign Finance Laws Rejected by Supreme Court, Court to Hear State Campaign Finance Case Next Monday

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By: Fred Wertheimer President, Democracy 21 For the second time in less than a year the Supreme Court has rejected a challenge brought by the RNC to the federal campaign finance laws and to past Supreme Court rulings. In Cao v. FEC, the Supreme Court yesterday denied a certiorari petition to review the case and […]

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POLITICO: To right, Citizens United just a start

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By Kenneth P. Vogel Not satisfied by the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that opened the floodgates to corporate-sponsored election ads, conservative opponents of campaign finance regulations have opened up a series of new legal fronts in their effort to eliminate the remaining laws restricting the flow of money into politics. They have taken to Congress, […]

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Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Constitutionality of Arizona Public Financing Law on March 28

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By Fred WertheimerPresident, Democracy 21 On March 28 the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in McComish v. Bennett, a case involving a challenge to the constitutionality of the Arizona public financing law. This will be the first time the Court has heard a challenge to the constitutionality of public financing of elections since it […]

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Reform Groups Call on President Obama to Move Quickly to Nominate New FEC Commissioners to Fix Rogue, Dysfunctional Agency

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Reform Groups Call on President Obama to Move Quickly to Nominate Five New FEC Commissioners to Fix Rogue, Dysfunctional Campaign Finance Enforcement Agency. In a letter sent to President Barack Obama today, eight reform organizations expressed “our grave concern about the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission which is spectacularly failing to meet its statutory responsibilities to […]

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New York Times Editorial: Trashing the lessons of Watergate

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House Republicans, pandering to the new corporate money trough legitimized by the Supreme Court, have voted to kill off public financing for presidential elections. Unless the Senate Democratic majority acts forcefully, the death of the public alternative – first adopted in the wake of the Watergate scandal – could be sealed in the rounds of […]

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