Small Print Lets Donors Write Big Checks

Jonathan Alter: Citizens United, super PACs killing our democracy

(NEWSER) - To Jonathan Alter, it's already clear that the 2012 presidential election will be "one of the most corrupt in US history." It's all thanks to Citizens United, the court ruling that allows a "tiny group of billionaires"—the current crop includes Sheldon Adelson , the Koch brothers , and Foster Friess —to sway races, he writes at Bloomberg . This is "so antithetical to our democratic traditions that it demands a national movement for a Fair Elections Amendment to the US Constitution." More»

That's more than double the proportion from 2007: analysis

(NEWSER) - President Obama continues to be successful raising money through small donations—and this time around, he's outpacing his campaign from four years ago. Last year, almost half of the money raised by the president's re-election campaign came from donors who gave $200 or less in total, a new report from the Campaign Finance Institute shows. In 2007, by comparison, just 22% of the $96.7 million he raised came from donations of $200 or less. In total, Obama raised $56.7 million from small donors last year, compared to the $38.1 million small donors contributed to all of his Republican opponents combined. More»

Fundraisers emboldened by Obama's endorsement

(NEWSER) - Now that President Obama has changed his tune on his super PAC , officials at Priorities USA Action have kicked into overdrive attempting to recruit deep-pocketed liberal donors who have largely been inactive since 2004. Ex-Obama aides held dozens of meetings with potential donors in LA, New York, and elsewhere yesterday, the New York Times reports, including a gaggle of executives from Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Fundraisers said they expected a boost because Obama had now made it clear he wanted the PAC to succeed. More»

Donations from family of Mexican casino boss Pepe Cardona

(NEWSER) - The Obama campaign has decided to return more than $200,000 worth of donations linked to Juan Jose Rojas Cardona, aka Pepe, a Mexican casino magnate who jumped bail in Iowa in 1994 to avoid drug and fraud charges, and has since come under suspicion of assassinating a business rival and making illegal campaign donations in Mexico. The donations were bundled by Cardona's brothers, Carlos Rojas Cardona and Alberto Rojas Cardona, both Americans. The New York Times confronted the Obama campaign about them yesterday. More»

And Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin is still pretty scary: reactions

(NEWSER) - If you thought Julianne Moore's Sarah Palin was terrifying in the first Game Change teaser , wait until you see her in the full trailer, where she utters lines such as, "We have to win this thing. I so don’t want to go back to Alaska." Watch below, then read on for some reactions:

• This will clearly be "a Frankenstein-esque story about McCain’s staffers coming to regret the choice they made in bringing a little-known governor into the limelight," writes Jon Bershad at Mediaite . "The full trailer ... gives us even more famous actors getting their turn to stare in horror at the 'monster' they’ve created."