campaign finance

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Votes Cost an Average of $7
 Votes Cost an Average of $7 
Oct 28, 2010 2:35 PM CDT

Votes Cost an Average of $7

Though calculations differ

(Newser) - How much does a vote cost? Estimates vary wildly, from $5 to $175, Slate reports in its Explainer column. In 2008, winners spent an average of $1.3 million to win roughly 185,000 votes, meaning each vote cost around $7, while losers spent an average $493,000 for 91,...

Moaning Democrats Actually Outspending Republicans

Outside groups can't make up for party advantages

(Newser) - Democrats have been playing the financial victim lately, bemoaning the cash outside groups are throwing at Republicans. Which is kind of ironic, because the truth is that Democrats are outspending Republicans—even if you take those outside groups into account. Democratic campaign committees and left-leaning outside groups have spent a...

US No Longer One of 20 Least Corrupt Nations

Falls to new low in global corruption rankings

(Newser) - For the first time ever, the US has fallen out of the top 20 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, thanks to financial scandals and the growing influence of money in our politics, Reuters reports. The US is now seen as the 22nd-least-corrupt country in the world, down from...

Democrats: McCain Violated McCain-Feingold

They say ad helping other GOP candidates is illegal

(Newser) - Democrats are accusing John McCain of violating the campaign finance law he championed based on some new ads in which he supports GOP congressional candidates Ruth McClung and Jesse Kelly. This, says the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, represents an “in kind”...

O'Donnell to GOP: Hannity's 'in My Back Pocket'

Senate hopeful complains party leaving her in the cold

(Newser) - Feeling sorely underfunded, Christine O’Donnell has warned the GOP she has a secret weapon: She says she’s “got Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys,” top Republicans tell Howard Fineman of the Huffington...

Chamber Took $885K From 84 Foreign Companies

But says it doesn't use it for political purposes

(Newser) - The US Chamber of Commerce has flatly denied recent Democratic attacks claiming that it uses foreign money to fund its political campaigns, and mainstream media fact checkers have largely backed them up. But Think Progress says those organizations have missed the point, pointing to data from the Chamber’s own...

Liberals Crank Up Heat on GOP Donors

They ask Justice Department, IRS to investigate

(Newser) - Democrats and liberal activist groups are launching a full-scale assault on the conservative groups that have been making it rain this election cycle. MoveOn.org and nonprofits like Public Citizen and Public Campaign are asking the Justice Department and the IRS to investigate these groups and their sources of funding,...

Soros: I'm Done Donating to Democrats

Says last 3 elections were 'exceptions,' sees GOP 'avalanche'

(Newser) - Like many Democratic über-donors, liberal billionaire George Soros is sitting this election out, but says throwing money at elections is something he didn’t like to do in the first place. “I made an exception getting involved in 2004,” Soros tells the New York Times . “...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Looks Like Bribery's Legal
 Looks Like Bribery's Legal 
OPINION
Aug 18, 2010 6:20 AM CDT

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Campaign Ruling Is a Bombshell&mdash;or Not
Campaign Ruling Is a Bombshell—or Not
opposing views
Jan 23, 2010 9:53 AM CST

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...

Obama Blasts Court Ruling on Campaign Finance

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

(Newser) - 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...

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...

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