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NEWS ABOUT: campaign finance

Obama Points Finger, GOP Denies Using Foreign Funds

GOP counterattacks after Obama targets Chamber funding

(Newser) - The GOP is rejecting accusations from President Obama and the Democratic National Committee that its allies are using funds from foreign donors to underwrite election campaigns. The White House is urging the Republican-allied US Chamber of Commerce to open its books to prove that foreign money isn't illegally being used... More »

Midterms Set to Be History's Most Expensive Elections

Spending on course to top $5B, totally dwarfing the 2008 presidential election

(Newser) - This year's midterm elections are on course to become the most expensive in American history. Experts predict that campaign spending will top $5 billion by the time voters go to the polls, dwarfing the $1 billion spent on the 2008 presidential campaign and the $2.8 billion spent on 2006's... More »

Democrats' Big Money Men Sitting Out 2010

Conservative groups outspending liberal ones by 7 to 1 margin

(Newser) - The Democrats' normal stable of megadonors has largely failed to show up for the 2010 race, while their Republican counterparts are going wild, the New York Times reports. Even reliable donors like George Soros are sitting on their wallets—Soros “believes that he can be most effective by funding... More »

Dems Swamped By GOP Ad Buys

Party blames Supreme Court ruling for free-spending GOP groups

(Newser) - Republican-leaning interest groups are grossly outspending their Democratic-leaning counterparts on TV ads in election races around the nation, and the gap is widening as races heat up. Democratic officials say the trend is a direct result of a Supreme Court decision lifting a ban on direct corporate spending on political... More »

Looks Like Bribery's Legal

Messy campaign finance system explains Blago verdict: Scott Turow

(Newser) - An Illinois jury's failure to convict Rod Blagojevich on bribery-related charges despite damning evidence starts to make sense when you look at America's shambolic campaign finance system, argues Scott Turow. The huge number of loopholes, together with the Supreme Court's decision to lift restrictions on corporate campaign donations, has turned... More »

Rich Candidates Flock to 2010 Election

Parties purposely recruit those with deep pockets

(Newser) - The 2010 election is seeing an unusual number of deep-pocketed newcomers step into the ring, self-financing their own campaigns. Of the $657 million raised so far by all candidates, 11% came from their own pockets, Politico reports, up from 6% in 2006. Among Republican House candidates, that number jumps to... More »

Sarkozy Denies Taking Illegal Donations

France outraged over alleged cash handoffs from L'Oreal heiress

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy went on TV last night to defend himself and his party against allegations that they took illegal cash donations from Liliane Bettencourt—the richest woman in France, and heir to the L’Oreal fortune. Sarkozy said he’d attended Bettencourt’s parties, but said nothing untoward had occurred... More »

Clyburn Says SC Candidate Is a 'Plant'

Congressman wants a federal inquiry into 'fishy' Alvin Greene

(Newser) - Jim Clyburn thinks Alvin Greene, the Democrats’ anonymous , allegedly felonious new Senate candidate, is a ringer. “There were some real shenanigans going on in the South Carolina primary,” the House Majority whip told a liberal radio show today, incredulous that the unemployed Greene could muster the $10,000... More »

Chamber of Commerce Flexes Muscles, Goes Grassroots

Thanks to Supreme Court ruling, group's power skyrockets

(Newser) - The US Chamber of Commerce has become so powerful it almost rivals the major parties, thanks in part to recent Supreme Court rulings that have given its fundraising operations a shot in the arm. Flush with cash, the group has launched a concerted grass-roots operation, signing up 6 million individuals... More »

Campaign Ruling Is a Bombshell—or Not

Washington is 'hyperventilating,' but the impact may not be that profound

(Newser) - Most of the reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling on campaign spending presents it as a bombshell that will open the spigots of corporate and union coffers and radically change how races are run. Today's New York Times , for instance, notes that the ruling calls into question laws in no... More »

Obama Blasts Court Ruling on Campaign Finance

More influence for special interests is the "last thing" we need

(AP) - President Obama blasted this week's Supreme Court decision easing limits on campaign spending by corporations and labor unions in his address this morning, saying, "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists... More »

GOP Set to Cash In On Campaign Spending Ruling

Obama promises 'forceful response' to Supreme Court decision

(Newser) - The Supreme Court's decision to lift a ban on direct corporate campaign spending will be a bonanza for the Republicans and another blow to the Democrats ahead of this year's elections, analysts say. Business lobbies that had been persuaded to back President Obama's initiatives are now taking stock of the... More »

Schumer: Campaign Ruling 'Undermines Democracy'

Democrats, good-government groups blast Supreme Court decision

(Newser) - Democrats and campaign reformers alike are railing against today’s Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to use their money how they please in the political arena. “This decision allows Wall Street to tap its vast corporate profits to drown out the voice of the public in our democracy,”... More »

Whitman, Poizner Pour Cash Into California Primary

But neither of them is even leading the GOP slugfest for gov

(Newser) - A pair of super-rich Republicans are ladling millions of their own dollars into the California gubernatorial primary, even though they’re both behind in the polls. This week Steve Poizner pulled $15 million out of his wallet for his run at the governor’s office, the San Francisco Chronicle reports,... More »

Bloomberg Spent $102M to Win 3rd Term

NYC mayor shatters record for spending own cash on campaign

(Newser) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent a whopping $102 million—$174 per vote—to narrowly win a third term in office this month, according to figures released last night. The billionaire broke his own record for the most expensive self-financed campaign in American history, the New York Times reports. More »

Pols-Turned-Lobbyists Use Campaign Cash to Curry Favor

Turn donations into 'political slush fund'

(Newser) - When congressmen leave Capitol Hill for lobbying jobs, they take their unused campaign funds with them, then dole them out to other lawmakers to influence policy, USA Today reports. Such donations are legal—federal law permits ex-congressmen to keep campaign accounts active, donating the money to candidates, parties, and charities—... More »

John Edwards Ready to Admit Paternity—But Not Elizabeth

She 'has yet to be brought around'

(Newser) - John Edwards once insisted on national TV that he did not father his mistress’ daughter. But secluded at his 100-acre estate in tony Chapel Hill, Edwards is now close to a public reversal—if he can convince his wife to let him, the New York Times reports. Elizabeth Edwards “... More »

Sotomayor's First Case Could Transform US Politics

New justice in at the deep end with landmark campaign finance case

(Newser) - There aren't any easy cases at the Supreme Court level but the one newbie Sonia Sotomayor and her eight colleagues will tackle  tomorrow is as momentous—and as tricky—as they come, McClatchy reports. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission will require the court to decide whether the long-standing ban... More »

High Court May Lift Restrictions on Corporate Cash in Politics

Firms could be allowed to spend freely on ads

(Newser) - September 9 could mark a watershed in campaign finance, as the Supreme Court hears a special argument for overturning long-standing rules that restrict corporations from buying political advertisements, the Los Angeles Times reports. The court has used the case of Hillary: The Movie, a documentary that a lower courts decided... More »

GOPers Spot End Run Around Election Law

FEC rule lets 1-man corporations pool their resources

(Newser) - A decision by campaign-finance regulators has a pair of GOP strategists hoping to skirt limits set by election law, Politico reports. The Federal Election Commission recently OK’d ad buys made by a solo activist’s one-man corporation. That gave the strategists an idea: Rich individuals could avoid rules against... More »

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