Has a nice little gift buried inside of it for the politicians...
A proposal to let rich donors give more money to political parties - slipped behind closed doors into a huge government spending bill -- is the latest in a string of setbacks for restrictions on money in politics and will be a "disaster for the American people," according to good government groups.
Campaign finance reform advocate Fred Wertheimer called the provision a "great deal" for millionaires and billionaires who can buy influence through big dollar contributions and for the politicians seeking them.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill, which would fund most of the government until next September, includes provisions that will allow donors to give a lot more money to Republicans and Democrats to help fund conventions, building projects and legal proceedings like recounts.
Rather than facing the current cap of $32,400, donors would be able to give up to $777,600 each year to funds and committees run by the parties or their campaign arms. That means individuals could give $1,555,200 per two-year election cycle and couples could give $3,110,400 in a cycle, according to several campaign finance groups who have studied the legislative language.
"If this passes it will be the most corrupting campaign finance provisions ever enacted in the history of the country," said Wertheimer, whose non-partisan group Democracy 21 has sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to vote against the bill. "The campaign finance laws have been left in shambles first by the Supreme Court and then potentially by the Congress if this becomes law."
"This is a pretty scary foreshadowing of what's going to be on [Sen. Mitch] McConnell's list of to dos in the next Congress and certainly dismantling the campaign finance system is high on his priority list," Gilbert said.
McConnell filed a friend of the court brief in the McCutcheon case that the argued overall limit placed individual contributions "offends the First Amendment."
"Contribution limits restrict the rights of speech and association of both the contributor and the recipient of the contribution," he wrote.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/10/politics/ ... ?hpt=hp_t2
That spending bill that passed to finance the Gov thru 2015?
Moderator: Metal Sludge
- Luminiferous
- Playing First Stage at SludgeFest
- Posts: 29049
- Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:47 pm
- Location: OI! Down here mate!
- Drunk Kennedy
- MSX Tour Support Act
- Posts: 4191
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:11 am
- Luminiferous
- Playing First Stage at SludgeFest
- Posts: 29049
- Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:47 pm
- Location: OI! Down here mate!
Re: That spending bill that passed to finance the Gov thru 2
Even better news for Koch Brothers..
Maybe they can beat the $300 million they spent on last month's midterms..
Maybe they can beat the $300 million they spent on last month's midterms..