Has Maxine Waters found a way around the Federal Election Campaign Act?
My colleague Lindsay Young reports on what appears to be a unique fundraising strategy employed by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.... View Article
Continue readingStatelight: Transparency in a Box, Pt. 3
As we set the stage for advocating on local and state transparency issues and highlight some policies issues of note,... View Article
Continue readingFlorida Senate candidate stands to benefit from Citizens United
Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida is seeking to move congressional offices and grab his state’s senate seat, and if he wins this Tuesday’s primary, he’ll be one step closer. In an effort to make that happen, an independent group has come to the aid of Meek’s modestly-financed campaign—relative to his competitors—and has spent $245,000 placing ads to discredit his opposition, specifically Jeff Greene, a wealthy businessman who has self-financed his run for office.
The large amount of money dedicated to running ads is keeping with what is happening in other parts of ...
Statelight: Transparency in a Box, Pt. 2
As Nicole wrote last week, we’re digging into state level transparency, in order to share what we know, and to... View Article
Continue readingThe dysfunctional way we view campaign contributions and corruption
I ham-handedly tried to explain why Tom DeLay got off-the-hook yesterday when I stated that his ideology overlapped perfectly with... View Article
Continue readingBig oil money at the state level mostly goes to influence the public, not the politicians
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling will allow corporate interests to spend unlimited amounts trying to influence voters, something they’ve... View Article
Continue readingLess of a non-sequitur response on campaign finance
After responding to a non-sequiturial (sic?) tweet from Patrick Ruffini last week, Ruffini responded by calling my post a non-sequitur.... View Article
Continue readingGoogle requests AdWords service be exempted from FEC rule
In wake of court rulings, new political groups intervene in primaries
When Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet fended off a tough primary challenge from former State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, he got a little bit of help from a new kind of political player, which spent $50,000 to make phone calls promoting the incumbent, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund--a group that registered under a designation created by the FEC in late July called an Independent Expenditure Committee--paid for the phone calls.
The sole purpose of independent expenditure committees is to make independent expenditures – place ads, make phone calls or ...
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