If Maine’s two senators, or even one of them, had stood by their long-held principles, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today where the majority of the outside spending groups are completely undisclosed, and even foreign corporations can spend in our elections without any transparency. Because of the Supreme Court, we can’t limit
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In 2002, Senator Paull Wellstone (D-MN) offered an amendment to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation to ban so-called “sham issue advocacy” groups from airing ads within 60 days of an election. His amendment targeted undisclosed campaign groups — from the NRA, to the Sierra Club, and the National Right to Life. If it weren’t
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High-priced lobbyists representing for-profit colleges, an industry largely created by K Street pressure over a decade, continue to do everything possible to avoid accountability for that industry’s waste, fraud, and abuse with $32 billion a year of your tax dollars. Many on Capitol Hill do the bidding of these wealthy companies and get campaign contributions in
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Corruption comes in many forms. Sometimes special interests attempt to buy influence through disclosed campaign donations, but too often, influence is purchased through unorthodox giveaways to our politicians, from discounted mortgages, to free yachts, and promises of future jobs. And in some cases, special interests gain a foothold by exploiting a lawmaker’s childhood fantasies. Senator Pat Leahy
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The DISCLOSE Act failed to overcome a Republican filibuster again last night, dooming the bill in the Senate. Democrats are pushing the bill to help reveal the donors of outside special interest groups that are dumping millions of dollars into the election anonymously. Republicans unanimously oppose the bill. But in 2006, things were very different. The two
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A Chinese, Russian, or Venezuelan corporation can legally influence American elections in secret, simply by setting up a corporation here, then funding a 501(c) group with some innocuous name to run attack ads. The ads could help elect lawmakers who support trade or foreign policy issues favorable to these countries, and the whole process would
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Politico: DISCLOSE Act fails again in Senate Senate Democrats on Monday lost another attempt to pass legislation forcing donors of groups that bankroll most election ads to be revealed. But Democrats, led by New York Sen. Charles Schumer, pledged to hold the Senate floor hostage and continue the debate well into the night. The DISCLOSE Act,
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On Sunday’s CNN “State of the Union,” Mitt Romney senior advisor Ed Gillespie explained how a second Obama Administration would reward its rich friends: “If you’re a political donor to Barack Obama, you’re going to do fine, because you’re going to get a payoff.” This statement was pure hypocrisy: “a feigning to be what one is
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