Hello there, We’re now working very hard on the documentary part of the Moneyocracy-project. It’ll be 90 min long and will include a wide range of interviewees who will drive us into the campaign finance system that the 2010 Supreme Court decision “Citizens United v.FEC” created. Here’s the list of the people included in our documentary:   Campaign Finance Expert, Former Commissioner & Chairman of Federal Election Commission and Attorney, Trevor Potter (@thetrevorpotter) Former FEC Data analyst and Senior Fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics, Bob Biersack (@rbiersack) Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, Adam Skaggs (@jadamskaggs) Co-founder of Creative Commons and law professor, Lawrence Lessig (@Lessig) Political Columnist Walter Shapiro (@waltershapiroPD) Managing Director at Civic Forum Strategies & Co-Founder of ProjectVirginia and Chairman of CivicForumPAC, Ford O’Connell (@FordOConnell) Co-Founder and Executive Director of Free Speech For People, John Bonifaz (@johnbonifaz) Reporter @HuffingtonPost covering campaign finance, Paul Blumenthal (@PaulBlu) Lawyer and policy advocate for Demos.org, Adam Lioz (@Demos_org) Chair of Political Science at the Baldwin-Wallace University (OH), Tom Sutton. Stay tuned for more, the release date and promotional material.  Thanks for your support!
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Hello there,

We’re now working very hard on the documentary part of the Moneyocracy-project.
It’ll be 90 min long and will include a wide range of interviewees who will drive us into the campaign finance system that the 2010 Supreme Court decision “Citizens United v.FEC” created. 

Here’s the list of the people included in our documentary:  

  • Campaign Finance Expert, Former Commissioner & Chairman of Federal Election Commission and Attorney, Trevor Potter (@thetrevorpotter)
  • Former FEC Data analyst and Senior Fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics, Bob Biersack (@rbiersack)
  • Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, Adam Skaggs (@jadamskaggs)
  • Co-founder of Creative Commons and law professor, Lawrence Lessig (@Lessig)
  • Political Columnist Walter Shapiro (@waltershapiroPD)
  • Managing Director at Civic Forum Strategies & Co-Founder of ProjectVirginia and Chairman of CivicForumPAC, Ford O’Connell (@FordOConnell)
  • Co-Founder and Executive Director of Free Speech For People, John Bonifaz (@johnbonifaz)
  • Reporter  covering campaign finance, Paul Blumenthal (@PaulBlu)
  • Lawyer and policy advocate for Demos.org, Adam Lioz (@Demos_org)
  • Chair of Political Science at the Baldwin-Wallace University (OH), Tom Sutton.

Stay tuned for more, the release date and promotional material.  
Thanks for your support!

thenationmagazine: Never mind the Super PACs: A new must-read investigative report in The Nation reveals how Big Business is buying the election with secret money.
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thenationmagazine:

Never mind the Super PACs: A new must-read investigative report in The Nation reveals how Big Business is buying the election with secret money.

(via sunfoundation)

Source: thenationmagazine

According to OpenSecrets.org: Tracking Money In Politics latest analysis, conservative super PACs have outspent their liberal counterparts by more than $100 million. (*Note: This is a correction from something we posted last night, which noted a 10:1 spending imbalance. It’s more like 4:1.)
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According to OpenSecrets.org: Tracking Money In Politics latest analysis, conservative super PACs have outspent their liberal counterparts by more than $100 million. (*Note: This is a correction from something we posted last night, which noted a 10:1 spending imbalance. It’s more like 4:1.)

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First glimpse of the Moneyocracy Documentary

source2012: Obama pushes small-dollar donors “If we don’t step it up, we’re in trouble,” the Obama campaign pleaded in a fundraising email Monday that emphasized the threat of “billionaires and super PACs” that are seeking to defeat the president. The email message also included the graphic above that name-checked casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who, along with his family, has donated more than $30 million to Republican super PACs so far this election cycle. GOP-aligned super PACs and nonprofits and Republican party committees have buoyed Mitt Romney’s own presidential bid. Party committees have higher contribution limits than candidates’ campaigns and super PACs and nonprofits have no contribution limits at all. Thanks to these higher contribution limits, Romney and his Romney Victory Fund — which benefits his campaign and several Republican party groups — has now outraised the president and his joint fundraising operation for three months in a row. In contrast, President Barack Obama has long sought to mobilize grassroots donors. According to campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission, about 60% of the money that Obama has raised has come in chucks of $200 or less. And about three-fourths of the money Obama has raised has come from people giving less than $1,000. Romney’s campaign has only relied on donations of $200 or less for about 20 percent of its funding. And more than half of the money Romney has raised has come from people giving at least $2,000, FEC records show. Federal law prohibits individuals from donating more than $5,000 to either Romney or Obama — that’s $2,500 a piece for their primary and general election funds.
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source2012:

Obama pushes small-dollar donors

“If we don’t step it up, we’re in trouble,” the Obama campaign pleaded in a fundraising email Monday that emphasized the threat of “billionaires and super PACs” that are seeking to defeat the president.

The email message also included the graphic above that name-checked casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who, along with his family, has donated more than $30 million to Republican super PACs so far this election cycle.

GOP-aligned super PACs and nonprofits and Republican party committees have buoyed Mitt Romney’s own presidential bid. Party committees have higher contribution limits than candidates’ campaigns and super PACs and nonprofits have no contribution limits at all.

Thanks to these higher contribution limits, Romney and his Romney Victory Fund — which benefits his campaign and several Republican party groups — has now outraised the president and his joint fundraising operation for three months in a row.

In contrast, President Barack Obama has long sought to mobilize grassroots donors.

According to campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission, about 60% of the money that Obama has raised has come in chucks of $200 or less. And about three-fourths of the money Obama has raised has come from people giving less than $1,000.

Romney’s campaign has only relied on donations of $200 or less for about 20 percent of its funding. And more than half of the money Romney has raised has come from people giving at least $2,000, FEC records show.

Federal law prohibits individuals from donating more than $5,000 to either Romney or Obama — that’s $2,500 a piece for their primary and general election funds.

Very good read on the recent history of campaign finance by Craig Unger Not long ago, Karl Rove seemed toxic: the brains of a disastrous presidency, tarred by scandal. Today, as the mastermind of a billion-dollar war chest—and with surrogates in place in the Romney campaign—he’s the de facto leader of the Republican Party. But in Rove’s long game, 2012 may be just the beginning. Read more on Vanity fair
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Very good read on the recent history of campaign finance by Craig Unger

Not long ago, Karl Rove seemed toxic: the brains of a disastrous presidency, tarred by scandal. Today, as the mastermind of a billion-dollar war chest—and with surrogates in place in the Romney campaign—he’s the de facto leader of the Republican Party. But in Rove’s long game, 2012 may be just the beginning.

Read more on Vanity fair

As of today, spending reported to the Federal Election Commission by groups that aren’t required to disclose the sources of their funding has nearly tripled over where it stood at the same point in the 2010 election cycle, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. Read More
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As of today, spending reported to the Federal Election Commission by groups that aren’t required to disclose the sources of their funding has nearly tripled over where it stood at the same point in the 2010 election cycle, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

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Because of the Citizens United decision, Karl Rove and the Republicans are looking forward to a breakfast the day after the election. They are going to assemble 17 angry old white men for breakfast, some of them will slobber in their food, some will have scrambled eggs, some will have oatmeal, their teeth are gone. But these 17 angry old white men will say, ‘Hey, we just bought America. Wasn’t so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.’
Sen. Harry Reid (via bostonreview)

Report: Over half of all super PAC spending comes from just 47 millionaires

Fifty-seven percent of all super PAC donations in this election has come from a small circle of just 47 donors, says a new report by Demos. Those are the donors who have given over $1 million each; those who have given over $10,000 account for 94 percent of all Super PAC fundraising.

“[O]ur research shows that outside spending groups that aggregate unlimited contributions are distorting our democracy, functioning as megaphones for (sometimes unseen) millionaires and moguls,” the report says. The authors, Adam Lioz and Blair Bowie, recommend a Constitutional amendment to allow limits on campaign contributions, among other proposed remedies.