Campaign Finance

The Price of Bloomberg's Big-Bucks Campaign Spending

Jarrett Murphy | Posted 07.08.2009 | New York


Jarrett Murphy

Whatever the impact of the mayor's spending on his own fortunes, the longer-term question is, what effect will it have on the system that tried to limit the importance of money in city politics?

End the Money Chase, Get Back to the Business of Governing

Bob Kerrey | Posted 06.25.2009 | Politics


Bob Kerrey

You say you want to serve your country in Congress? Show me the money. Otherwise, you will be shown the door.

Just Say NO to Fundraising Requests from Politicians

Lawrence Lessig | Posted 06.23.2009 | Politics


Lawrence Lessig

It's that time of the year again. Every quarter, just as the FEC reporting deadlines approach, politicians go on a mad scramble for last-minute donations.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Financial Sector Regulation

Robert Weissman | Posted 06.17.2009 | Business


Robert Weissman

There's no question that Wall Street is going to mobilize -- is already mobilized -- to defeat the administration's positive proposals.

Banking on Change?

Nick Nyhart | Posted 06.01.2009 | Politics


Nick Nyhart

The battle ahead on financial regulation pits consumer interests against wealthy lobbying interests that have made a huge investment in campaign contributions.

The New Evita? Obama's Political Outreach by Lottery

Steve Clemons | Posted 05.14.2009 | Politics


Steve Clemons

Today, I received the note from Senator Bob Menendez promising Obama-time for a select few picked from those who kick in five bucks to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

It's the Process That Counts!

Jay Mandle | Posted 05.07.2009 | Politics


Jay Mandle

Advocates of publicly funded political campaigns are handicapped because changing the way electoral efforts are paid for is a "process" issue.

Congressional Fair Elections Act 2009

Jay Mandle | Posted 04.13.2009 | Politics


Jay Mandle

This legislation will not be adopted without a hard fight. The special interests who benefit from the "pay to play" political system will not willingly concede defeat.

Durbin: "If you even knew how much time we spend raising money..."

Lawrence Lessig | Posted 04.01.2009 | Politics


Lawrence Lessig

For years, financial institutions like Bank of America and AIG donated millions to the very people who were supposed to regulate them. The result is obvious.

Political Fix Part of the Economic Solution

Nick Nyhart | Posted 03.31.2009 | Politics


Nick Nyhart

With powerful Congressional leaders now behind public financing, the chances to roll back the pay-to-play politics norm in Washington, D.C. have never looked better.

Goldman Sachs, Obama, Money

Bob Ostertag | Posted 03.21.2009 | Politics


Bob Ostertag

Have things changed so dramatically that Obama will have room to dump his biggest campaign contributers overboard? That question will be answered in the coming weeks.

Feingold Pushing Campaign Finance Bill, You Can Help Pass It

Paul Blumenthal | Posted 03.11.2009 | Politics


Paul Blumenthal

Did you know that Senators still file their campaign finance reports on paper, delaying the disclosure of contributors to their campaigns, sometimes for months?

Wall Street's Best Investment II: 12 Deregulatory Steps to Financial Meltdown

Robert Weissman | Posted 03.06.2009 | Business


Robert Weissman

What can $5 billion buy in Washington? Quite a lot. Over the 1998-2008 period, the financial sector spent more than $5 billion on U.S. federal camp...

Wall Street's Best Investment: Paying for Policy in Washington

Robert Weissman | Posted 03.04.2009 | Business


Robert Weissman

Financial deregulatory mania over the last three decades led directly to the current financial meltdown. Were the deregulators acting out of principl...

Stanford, Madoff Scandals Show Need for Campaign Finance Reform

Duncan Quirk | Posted 02.23.2009 | Politics


Duncan Quirk

Senators and Representatives are elected to represent their constituents, so why should Madoff and Stanford and others be allowed to donate to campaigns for which they are not constituents?

Analyzing EightMaps (thoughts from the LGBT community and beyond)

Kim Stolz | Posted 02.10.2009 | Home


Kim Stolz

On Monday, news broke of a Web site called EightMaps.com that reveals personal information about people and organizations who donated money in support...

FEC Raises Political Contributions Limit

CNN | Posted 01.23.2009 | Politics


The Federal Election Commission announced Friday increased contribution limits for the 2009-2010 federal campaign cycle. Donors may now contribute $2...

The Obama Money Machine

Daniel Lubetzky | Posted 01.19.2009 | Politics


Daniel Lubetzky

I am so enormously turned off by all the emails I keep getting from the Obama "campaign" asking me for more money! What are they going to do with this money?

Protecting Consumers

James Love | Posted 01.03.2009 | Politics


James Love

Obama will soon be President, working with solid democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. He should use his power to advance consumer interests in ways that have been neglected for decades.

How Should We Get Big-Money Influence Out of Congressional Elections?

Lawrence Lessig | Posted 01.02.2009 | Politics


Lawrence Lessig

I and others will soon announce a large grassroots campaign aimed at channeling the amazing desire for change that Americans are feeling right now into tangible and fundamental reform of our political system.

Mr. Obama Disagrees

Paul Jenkins | Posted 12.19.2008 | Politics


Paul Jenkins

Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration is dreadful. His explanation is even worse. He shrinks Warren's statements about gay people down to a "disagreement," as if we're talking about ethanol subsidies.

The Root Cause of the Economic Catastrophe

Dave Johnson | Posted 12.19.2008 | Politics


Dave Johnson

Everyone understands that the root cause of this economic catastrophe was corporate money's influence on our politics. Corporations are able to con...

Auction Block Politics

Laura MacCleery | Posted 12.18.2008 | Politics


Laura MacCleery

There is a widely acknowledged symbiotic relationship between donors and politicians that tends over time merely to reinforce and reward the natural political inclinations of both.

Blago My Pay-Go: How Not to Sell an Illinois Senate Seat

Nick Nyhart | Posted 12.11.2008 | Politics


Nick Nyhart

While public financing won't eradicate blind ambition or bloated egos, it will make a political class more accountable to voters instead of big campaign contributors and take out a key thoroughfare for corruption.

Republican Party Plans Suit To Overturn McCain Law

AP | JIM KUHNHENN | Posted 11.12.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The national Republican Party wants to make it easier to raise and spend political money and plans to sue the Federal Election Comm...