Stories related to: campaign finance

Desperate to keep up with Barack Obama's powerful fundraising apparatus, John McCain’s allies have found ways of skirting the very campaign finance laws the Arizona senator helped write, the Wall Street Journal reports. Republican strategists are pushing donations toward a fund used to elect governors—not subject to dollar limits—on the theory that state-level pushes will boost the top of the ticket. More »

Barack Obama likes to tout his small-donor network, as though a wave of inspired regular folk came out of the woodwork just for him. In reality, Obama is mining a money class that Democrats have been cultivating for years, writes David Brooks in the New York Times —"the rising class of information age analysts." More »

Score this week for John McCain, writes Mark Halperin in Time . "McCain's week wasn't particularly good, but Obama's was dreadful by comparison." Here’s how it adds up: Image: McCain’s goal is to make Obama look “like an ordinary politician.” Barack helped with one of his “most off-message weeks,” says Halperin, citing campaign finance, NAFTA, and a flap over head scarves. Advantage: McCain. Iraq: The war has always been Obama's ace in the hole, but “favorable reporting” on surge success from major papers “may neutralize the issue.” Advantage: McCain. More »

The Supreme Court today voided the “millionaire’s amendment,” ruling by 5-4 that the law—which raised donation limits for candidates who face wealthy, self-financed opponents—violates the First Amendment, the AP reports. The majority said it would have been a different story if all candidates saw their limits raised. Notably, Barack Obama (in his Senate primary) may be the biggest beneficiary of the 2002 law to date. More »

Barack Obama may be taking flak for opting out of public financing, but he would have been foolish to do otherwise, writes Charlie Cook in the National Journal . Cook is "relieved" that a potential president is savvy enough to hang on to a huge spending advantage. And in this race—in which "most voters are being asked, for the first time, to vote for someone who is very different from themselves"—Obama's going to need that money to make his case. More »

One day after Barack Obama became the first candidate since Watergate to reject general election public financing, a prominent liberal grassroots group has disbanded its 527 operation. "We, like Senator Obama, believe that this election can be won by ordinary Americans giving small donations,” MoveOn said in a statement. This cuts MoveOn off from labor, foundation and big-donor money, Talking Points Memo reports. More »

Barack Obama’s decision to opt out of the public financing system shouldn’t come as a surprise, writes Politico’s Ben Smith. Obama has been inching away from the money for a long time now, proving once again that he’s not a traditional reformer—he’s a pragmatist. Obama comes from a community organizing tradition that focuses on results, not methods. More »

Barack Obama's decision to forgo public financing for his presidential campaign represents the biggest challenge yet to the troubled, loophole-filled system. But while the Illinois senator is now poised to spend a record amount to win the presidency, the explosion of  Internet donations that have propelled his campaign might actually be more successful at offsetting the power of special interests, writes the New York Times . More »

Barack Obama has two faces: there’s the "high-minded" liberal “Dr. Barack” and the politically calculating, win at-all-costs “Fast Eddie Obama,” writes David Brooks in the New York Times . The split personality clearly emerged in Obama’s announcement that he won’t accept public financing—a money-making move that leaves his ardent support of campaign-finance reform in the dust. More »

Following fast on Barack Obama’s decision to abandon public financing, a McCain rep said the Dem has failed “the true test of a candidate”—whether he'll stick to his word, Time reports. But Politico notes that an Obama rep blamed McCain: “Our campaign counsels met, and it was immediately clear that McCain’s campaign had no interest in the possibility of an agreement.” More »

Barack Obama has opted out of public financing in the general election, the AP reports, reversing a joint pledge made last year with John McCain to spend only the $84 million in taxpayer cash between the party conventions and Election Day. While McCain appears set to accept public financing, Obama has since proved a fundraising juggernaut—and has long hinted he’d stick with private cash. More »

Hillary Clinton's White House bid made history—by ending with what is believed to be the largest presidential campaign debt ever. The New York senator had approximately $9.5 million in unpaid bills at the end of April, not to mention $11.4 of her own money that she lent the campaign. The Clinton campaign is still adding up the final tally, but her options for retiring her debt are limited. More »

Big donors are pumping big money into both party's conventions, one of the last remaining loopholes in the rules governing so-called soft money contributions, the New York Times reports. And while it's all perfectly legal, the issue may test the conviction of both Barack Obama and John McCain on their desire to eliminate the influence of deep-pocketed contributors. More »

The Obama and Clinton campaigns have been working to merge their fundraising machines as Clinton prepares her swan song today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton made a call to her top 50 fundraisers, urging them to get behind Obama and promising a private meeting with the presumed nominee. The combined operation could create a juggernaut capable of dwarfing the contents of John McCain's offers. More »

Republicans not used to worrying about money are sweating pennies, given John McCain's relatively inept fundraising in the face of an unprecedented Democratic war chest. Barack Obama, by conservative estimates, will have $300 million to McCain’s federal cap of $85 million for the general-election campaign, Politico reports—and with that kind of money, Obama could force McCain to play defense in traditionally red states. More »

Barack Obama moved today to make his campaign more transparent, in keeping with his theme of bringing change to Washington. Obama will open all his fundraisers to the press, Politico reports. He’s also cleaning up his party’s fundraising efforts; starting today, the Democratic National Committee, like Obama’s campaign, won’t accept money from lobbyists or political action committees. More »

The Democratic presidential candidates have raised so much money that the FEC can’t handle the data, Politico reports. Barack Obama’s January report was so big that industry standard spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel 2003 couldn’t handle it. By March, Hillary Clinton had also broken the Excel barrier—a mere 65,536 rows and 256 columns. More »

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will fight each other for the nomination into June, but top fundraisers are already ensuring a McCain defeat, no matter who the nominee is. One DNC fundraiser was held in honor of a Clinton backer at the residence of an Obama supporter, the Washington Post reports. But some aren't so quick to make peace. More »

Hillary Clinton's loss of momentum is taking a tangible toll on her ability to raise—and spend—money, leaving her campaign even more strapped for cash at a time she needs to pull out all the stops, the New York Times reports. Advisers say that Clinton is prepared to shell out more of her own, adding to the $11 million she's already provided. More »

Ehud Olmert resisted calls for his resignation today, after admitting on national TV last night that he accepted contributions from a New York businessman—but denying that any of it was a bribe. Olmert, under criminal investigation for allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Long Island millionaire Morris Talansky while he was mayor of Jerusalem and minister of industry, vowed to resign if indicted. More »