Death Knell Tolls for Campaign Finance

Party challenges limits on 'soft money' donations, coordination with candidate

(NEWSER) - The Republican Party, smarting over its defeat at the hands of Barack Obama’s fundraising machine, is suing to defang the campaign-finance bill John McCain sponsored, the Washington Times reports. Two suits to be filed today will challenge the legislation’s limits on so-called “soft money” and the parties’ ability to merge spending efforts with individual campaigns. More»

GOP files complaint over funding of Obama visit to grandmother— the day she died

(NEWSER) - Just hours before Barack Obama announced that his grandmother had died, on the eve of the election, the California Republican Party filed a complaint against him for visiting her on his campaign’s dime, reports the Washington Post. The press release announcing the complaint may have been the worst-timed of any all year—but there was little time left in the campaign for it to backfire. More»

The '08 version redrew the political map and ruptured the financing system, and more

(NEWSER) - We can't be sure what kind of change the next president will bring, but we do know that presidential campaigns themselves will never be the same, writes Gerald F. Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Among this year’s innovations:

• The campaigns have redrawn the political map, making previously locked states competitive, like Virginia, and placing increasing emphasis on the Mountain West.

Charity employees are more likely to donate money to the left side of the aisle, study finds

(NEWSER) - People in the charitable world lean heavily Democrat and love Barack Obama, but try to keep their affiliation low-key to avoid insulting the other side, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. A new study shows that 88% of foundation worker donations went to Dems, enriching Obama's effort by $399,000 and John McCain's by $32,000. “There’s an overwhelmingly uniform personal ideology among this group,” said a director at the group doing the study. More»

Fundraisers with Kerry, Buffett kept the fat checks coming in

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s money machine has kept rolling thanks, in part, to a series of intimate fundraisers headlined by his top advisers, Politico reports. In exchange for a mere $28,500, Obama supporters could snag seats at a dinner with Warren Buffett or a “Round Table Discussion” with Robert Rubin. Slimmer wallets could attend a reception with John Kerry for as low as $250. More»