As Election Day approaches, sources of campaign funding still a mystery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

• $7 million: Amount Republican donor Bob J. Perry, who helped finance the Swift Boat Veterans campaign against presidential candidate John Kerry, has given to the conservative group American Crossroads for the upcoming election
• $4.8 million: Amount given to American Crossroads by Robert Rowling, CEO of a company whose holdings include Omni Hotels
• $15 million: Amount American Crossroads raised in 43 days
• $24.1 million: Amount American Crossroads has raised this year

FEC should investigate American Future Fund, groups say

American Future Fund, a conservative nonprofit group pouring money into the 2010 midterm elections, appears to be violating campaign finance law, watchdog groups said in a complaint filed this week with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The agency should investigate whether American Future Fund must register as a political committee, which would make it subject to recordkeeping, reporting and disclosure requirements.

Stealth PACs database unveiled

With record amounts of secret money being funneled through nonprofit organizations to influence the upcoming elections, Public Citizen has created an Internet database to track the activity. The new Stealth PACs database, available here, tracks more than 100 groups that are working to influence the elections with large contributions from corporations, unions or wealthy individuals in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That ruling gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited amounts to influence elections

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Citizens United a Machiavellian decision

In today’s WaPo, columnist E.J. Dionne says that the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited funds in elections, was either “the most Machiavellian in American history or the most naive” decision the high court has made.

In Citizens United, the court’s “5 to 4 conservative majority broke with decades of precedent and said Congress had no right to ban corporate or labor union spending to influence the outcome of elections,” Dionne said. “The decision is Machiavellian if

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Money & Democracy Update: Outrage growing over Target’s campaign spending

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

Amount financial industry has spent on lobbying this year: $251 million

Amount Citigroup spent on lobbying during the first half of 2010: $3 million

Amount Goldman Sachs spent on lobbying in the first half of 2010: $2.7 million

Amount Bank of America spent on lobbying in the first half of 2010: $2.1 million

Goldman Sachs says it won’t make direct expenditures on electioneering

Goldman Sachs is taking the high road – sort of.

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Money and Democracy Update: U.S. Chamber planning its election spending spree

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

Amount the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent on lobbying in 2009: $120 million

Amount Chamber spent daily to defeat health care reform in the weeks before its passage: $800,000

Amount Chamber plans to spend to influence the fall congressional elections: $50 million

Senate Republicans block DISCLOSE Act; Public Citizen urges reconsideration

Last week in the U.S. Senate, partisan politics prevailed over the public interest as all

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The Daily Show tackles Citizen United

We know; we have a lot to say about the Citizens United decision. But who would we be if we didn’t include the comedic wit of Jon Stewart, who tackled the Citizens United decision with Daily Show correspondent John Oliver last night.

“I refuse to accept that corporations should have the same protections as people,” Stewart told Oliver.

Oliver, who refused to believe Stewart’s assertion, asked, “If you prick my corporation, does it not bleed?”

Oliver’s faux corporation, Olivercorp, played an advertisement denouncing Stewart for molesting money-makers. The correspondent told Stewart that if he wanted to respond, he could develop enough wealth to buy an ad slot to take on the corporate molestation rumors.

“You have more rights than people now,” a flabbergasted Stewart said.

We know, Jon. That’s exactly why we’re trying to get this Supreme Court decision overturned with a constitutional amendment. Sign Public Citizen’s petition now.

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Corporations as people: the blog roundup

You’ve heard the news, you’ve read our previous blog postings, you’ve (hopefully!) signed the petition for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, but the blogosphere continues to flow with stories about the devastating Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

TalkingPointsMemo’s Zachary Roth writes:

Rich Masterson, a Republican political consultant whose firm, CampaignGrid, develops internet ad campaigns, said his phone had been ringing off the hook with potential clients whose eagerness to develop campaigns for the 2010 election was given a major boost by Thursday’s ruling.

Andrew White of the Daily Kos said:

Opening the door for the court to consider issues not brought before is a very wide barn door indeed. It would seem to me that there would have to be a good, sound logical path from the issues presented back to issues already decided and agreed upon in order for the court to expand its investigation into those matters. In my view no such logical path has been presented… other than the clear pre-determined desire of these 5 men to eliminate corporate electoral spending regulations.

Firedoglake’s Michael Whitney adds:

There’s some talk of allowing shareholders of corporations to exempt their shares from political use, similar to how union members can opt out of having their dues fund the union’s political activity as a fix to Citizens United.  That would hardly level the playing field, as those activist shareholders will be in the minority.  Regardless, it’s clear that corporations have the potential to spend much, much more than any union in this brave new world of campaign finance.

We cannot let corporations have more of a voice than people–you know, the ones who are supposed to be protected by the First Amendment. Sign Public Citizen’s petition. Encourage a friend to, as well. Call your lawmakers and tell them that the Citizens United v. FEC decision needs to be overturned.

Let’s use our freedom of speech to actually convey words, not money.

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Public Citizen featured in Citizens United media coverage

The media is aflutter after the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case, the ruling of which will allow corporations to flood campaigns with cash and unfairly influence the outcome of elections.

Public Citizen has managed to stay on the forefront of the news stories discussing this crippling decision and Public Citizen’s proposed constitutional amendment to overturn it.

Public Citizen president Robert Weissman was quoted in news wire stories from the Associated Press and UPI, in the Fort Myers News-Press, Democracy Now, Ventura County Star and Injuryboard.com. He appeared on CBS News Radio, ABC News Radio, PBS/Nightly Business Report, CNN Radio and KPCC/So. California Public Radio.

Scott Nelson, an attorney with Public Citizen and a member of the legal team opposing Citizen United’s case, was quoted in a National Journal story. He has appeared on SiriusXM/POTUS, KPFK/L.A., Air America/Nicole Sandler and KBOO/Portland, Ore.

Craig Holman, a lobbyist with Public Citizen, spoke on KPFA in Berkeley, Calif.,  and was quoted in a National Journal story about the decision, as well.

Public Citizen was also mentioned in stories that appeared in the Huffington Post, Washington Examiner, The Boston Globe, OpEd News, Institute for Public Accuracy, dpa International Services in English, CBSNews, Investor’s Business Daily, SEIU blog, Jim Hightower’s Buzzflash Blog, FoxNews, Reason Magazine’s blog, Raw Story, Gather.com and The Batavian.

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