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CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM AND ETHICS NEWS
NEW
YORK
New
York State Board of Elections Late to Approve Disclosure Regulations
The New York State Board of Elections has failed to approve final regulations regarding Super PAC disclosure. The draft regulations,
which were due January 1, 2012, were not completed until this spring. Once they
are approved, the regulations will entail a 30-day waiting period before
enforcement to allow Super PACs sufficient time to prepare. Realistically this
date will be well past the state primary elections and too close to the general
elections in November—hindering voters from accessing important information.
Although disclosure by Super PACs is already required under current law, the
regulations were designed to ensure more specific disclosure on Super PAC
fundraising, donations and ad expenditures.
Citizens Protest Outside Amedore Fundraiser
A
variety of good government groups held a protest this Thursday outside a fundraiser for George Amedore, a
Republican Assemblyman now running for a Senate seat in the 46th
district. The cost of entry tickets was $250, with a lavish $1,000 opening
reception. The protestors gathered near the Mohawk Golf Club in Schenectady to
criticize Amedore’s disproportionate take from out-of-district special
interests. Sean Collins, of Citizen Action, stated that 24 contributors that
donated over $5,000 each to the campaign accounted for “over 50 percent of the
cash he’s raised, totaling $152,247.” A pamphlet distributed to the media
further indicated that 17 of these 24 contributions, totaling 37 percent of
Amedore’s campaign funds from this year, hailed from real estate, developers,
and construction corporations, firms and organizations.
NATIONAL
Democratic
Party Platform Endorses Campaign Finance Reform
Unlike the Republican Party Platform, which
praises Citizens United and opposes
the DISCLOSE Act, the newly unveiled 2012Democratic Party Platform declares support for campaign finance reform—but
with less vigor and detail that one would wish. The Platform applauds President
Obama for establishing unprecedented ethics rules during his administration—banning
gifts from lobbyists and preventing former executive branch officials from
lobbying the administration via executive order. It also commends the
Democratic National Committee for declining contributions from corporations and
federal lobbyists. Without mentioning specific reforms to curb unrestrained campaign
donations, the Platform advocates for “campaign finance reform, by
constitutional amendment if necessary.” It also upholds disclosure; “We support
requiring groups trying to influence elections to reveal their donors so the
public will know who’s funding the political ads it sees.” Unfortunately, the
Democratic Party Platform is too quick to praise and insufficiently detailed. A
New York Times editorial lauds the
Democratic Party for taking “a stand against the rising influence of money in
politics,” but asserts that campaign finance reform “has been relegated to a
document that few will ever read” as “no convention speaker on Tuesday made it
a priority.”
Exclusive
Events for Donors at DNC
At the Democratic National Convention, donors are receiving exclusive access to events with Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.
Convention organizers have divided the donors into different strata, each with
its corresponding set of events, based on their level of contribution to the
Obama campaign. All donors to the Obama Victory Fund are entitled to attend an
exclusive campaign briefing with campaign manager Jim Messina, a “toast to the
South” with President Bill Clinton, and a rally at the NASCAR Hall of Fame with
Vice President Joe Biden. A National Finance Committee breakfast with Michelle
Obama, however, is reserved for bigger donors that qualify for “NAB” and
“Presidential Partners” status—those that donated the maximum $75,800 to the Obama Victory Fund.
Super
PACs and Lobbyists Active at DNC After-Parties
Super PACs made their presence known at
the Republican convention in Tampa, and
they [are not far behind in Charlotte.
Donors that gave $100,000 to Super PACs backing Obama and Congressional
Democrats received fifty tickets to a party featuring Hollywood celebrity
Jessica Alba, rapper Pitbull, and the pop band Scissor Sisters. These donors
are also entitled to six tickets for the Political Leaders Brunch, where they
will have the opportunity to interact with Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin,
and Chuck Schumer, as well as Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and
Steve Israel. Along with these courtesy events to thank donors, there are a
number of closed-door fundraising dinners, such as the Super-O-Rama for Priorities USA Action, House
Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC. A
comprehensive set of after-party events by corporate lobbyists and Super PACs
are mapped out by the Sunlight Foundation
and the Huffington Post.
West
Virginia Supreme Court Issues Decision
This Tuesday, the West Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding a case involving
public financing for state judicial elections. Republican Supreme Court
candidate, Allen Loughry, is the only candidate participating in a public
matching program designed to reduce the influence of money on the bench.
Loughry sued the State Election Commission for refusing to disperse public
"rescue" funds to his campaign—provided in the event that his
privately financed opponents outspend him. Adam Skaggs—senior counsel at the
Brennan Center and one of Loughry’s attorneys—argued that judicial elections
are different than legislative or executive elections in that the branch should
be impartial, not responsive to particular constituencies or interest groups. The
Court delivered its decision on Friday. Although the Court appropriately recognized that the public funding program’s goals of “protecting the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary and strengthening public confidence”
in the institution are compelling state interests, it unfortunately did not
find the use of rescue funds to be narrowly tailored, and struck down those
provisions.
Super
PACs Spend Millions Against Obama, Romney
Swing-state voters should prepare for
another onslaught of political attack ads. Federal candidates and outside groups will be unleashing an estimated $3 billion in advertising expenditures over the next nine weeks, making the 2012 election
the most expensive in American history. Particularly concerning is the undue
influence of outside Super PACs and non-profits in producing these ads. These
organizations have pumped $26 million into ads opposing Mitt Romney. That
figure is dwarfed by the amount that outside groups have spent against
Obama—$68 million. Specific numbers on the outside groups as well as a sampling
of their ads are available via an interactive tool on the Los Angeles Times website.
2 comments:
$3 billion dollars is a shocking amount of money. There's just now way that political candidates can make non-biased decisions once elected with that much money floating around. I will be donating $3 to any congressional candidate that voices strong support for campaign finance reform up until the election through youfixcampaignfinance.org . Thanks for the news summary.
$3 billion is a shocking amount of money. There's just no way that politicians can be non-biased in their decision making with that much money floating around. I will be donating $3 to any congressional candidate that voices strong support for campaign finance reform up until the election through youfixcampaignfinance.org . Thanks for the news summary.
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