NEWS ROUNDUP Campaign Finance Restore our Credit Card Numbers: Restore Our Future, the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC uses an online... View Article
Continue readingAd buys mostly outside of FCC’s new disclosure rule
New rules requiring greater online disclosure of political TV advertisements in the country's top 50 markets wouldn't have applied to the majority of ads aired by the Obama campaign during an 11 day period in April, according to a new analysis.
Continue readingKentucky Derby: Owners put money on politicians, not ponies
The real money in the Kentucky Derby isn't in the purse or the pari-mutuel, but in the politics. Horse-focused PACs like the American Horse Council, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and horse breeders and owners have contributed more than $8.7 million to political candidates and parties since 1989 and spent $2.2 million more lobbying. And some of the top donors to these organizations are mega-donors in their own right, having contributed millions more to politicians, parties, PACs and super PACs.
Far from the finish line, the industry jockeys for tax breaks and other special treatment for big ...
Continue readingUnder-the-radar political ads: A guide to electioneering communications
Already in this election cycle, nonprofit groups using the cover of "issue advertisements"—thinly disguised attacks or promotions of a particular candidate—have spent about $30 million on general election ads, according to a new study. But only about $4.4 million of buys have been disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
That’s because the issue ads, also known as "electioneering communications," must be disclosed to the FEC only when they air on TV or radio in the weeks immediately preceding an election. It's a quirk in the election law that offers another way for deep-pocketed donors to ...
Continue readingBetter off than four years ago? Not when it comes to political ads, report says
More than two thirds of all ads aired in the presidential race so far have been attacks, a drastic increase compared to recent presidential campaigns, according to a new study by the political ad-tracking Wesleyan Media Project that covers the race from the start of 2011 through April 22 of this year.
Of the ads aired during that period, 70 percent were negative, compared to 10 percent in the last presidential campaign. Political scientist Michael Franz, a co-director of the project, called the change "absolutely astonishing."
The negative tone is being driven by outside groups, responsible for 86 percent of ...
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 5/3/2012
NEWS ROUNDUP Campaign Finance Sherman’s investments pay off: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Ca) has had astonishing success investing excess campaign cash over... View Article
Continue readingDefending the Big Tent: Open Data, Inclusivity and Activism
Other than his inconveniently similar name, I usually have no beef with Tom Slee. His blog provides a reliably interesting... View Article
Continue readingAdvise the FEC: Can you find the candidate?
The American Future Fund (AFF) is asking the FEC what kind of ads they can make without triggering donor-reporting requirements.... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 5/2/2012
NEWS ROUNDUP Campaign Finance Super PAC super donors: A breakdown of the top ten super PAC donors so far this cycle,... View Article
Continue readingFederal Spending Transparency on the Decline?
This is a guest post by Becky Sweger, from the National Priorities Project. Even as government transparency initiatives and portals... View Article
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