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Encouraging news from campaign finance 'reform' poll
Published on July 22, 2009
Category: Contributions & Limits, Jurisprudence & Litigation
A recent telephone survey by polling firm Rasmussen Reports finds that U.S. voters are less supportive of campaign finance restrictions than reform groups regularly claim. The data show a clear and deep skepticism of the current campaign finance regime and a willingess to let the onerous system of low contribution limits and other campaign curbs fade away.
Chicago Tribune on Failure of Campaign Finance “Reform” in Illinois
Published on July 6, 2009
Category: Contributions & Limits
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Yesterday's Chicago Tribune featured a story laying out the sordid details of how so-called campaign finance "reform" legislation passed the Illinois legislature. Needless to say, the story has a lot to do with political agendas, partisan posturing, back-room dealings , and self-interest, such as Governor Pat Quinn's reco
Contribution limits and the wealthy candidate
Published on June 8, 2009
Category: Contributions & Limits
The Hill reported last week that both Democratic and Republican Senate campaign committees are trying to recruit top-notch candidates for the 2010 election - top-notch in this case often meaning "not hampered by too-low contribution limits." From the article: With potentially competitive Senate races forming in the seven most populous states in the union, the scope of campaign finance could reach new heights in 2010.Much is yet to be decided - specifically, whether Republicans actually land to
Backlash against Illinois’ incumbent protectionism under the guise of campaign finance “reformâ€
Published on June 3, 2009
Category: Contributions & Limits
A few days ago, we noted our objections to the so-called campaign finance "reform" legislation in Illinois that resulted from a compromise between Gov. Pat Quinn and state House and Senate Democrats. Our biggest critique of the bill was that it blatantly favored the entrenched political leadership at the expense of the people of Illinois. We said: "For all the talk of ‘reform' and ‘reducing corruption,' the big winners if this compromise legislation is passed w
How not to address corruption in Illinois politics
Published on May 30, 2009 06:25 AM
Category: Contributions & Limits
Here at the Center for Competitive Politics, we believe that any proposed campaign finance "reform" should be looked at with more than just a little skepticism not only because of the free speech and associational rights at stake, but also because of just who will be enacting the "reform"-- namely, incumbent politicians. In other words, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to wonder whether maybe, just maybe, those enacting the campaign finance "reforms" might ensure their own se
Gaming protection for political contributions
Published on May 6, 2009 06:50 AM
Category: Contributions & Limits, Faulty Assumptions, Jurisprudence & Litigation
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a state law that banned essentially all political contributions from anyone with any link to the gaming industry. Specifically, Pennsylvania's High Court ruled 5-1 that "a wholesale banning of political contributions" -- even when those contributions are given by those who
New Jersey Star-Ledger on campaign finance “reformâ€
Published on April 28, 2009
Category: Contributions & Limits, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
The New Jersey Star-Ledger weighs in today with an editorial decrying the failure of so-called campaign finance "reform" to level the playing field, mostly due to that pesky First Amendment. The cause of the latest teeth-gnashing and garment-rending by New Jersey's campaign finance "reform" community is Governor John Corzine's decision to once again self-fund his campaign, while the two candidates vying to challenge him in the general election this November are apparently both planning to take t
AEI Press Releases New Campaign Finance Reform Book by Wallison & Gora
Published on April 23, 2009 01:29 PM
Category: Contributions & Limits, Political Parties
AEI Press has announced the release of Better Parties, Better Government: A Realistic Program for Campaign Finance Reform, by Peter Wallison and CCP Academic Advisor Joel Gora. The authors demonstrate how deregulation of the campaign finance system - in particular removal of restraints on political parties, can alleviate many of the ills that traditional command and control reform have failed to solve, and have indeed exacerbated. To read more click here
Campaign Finance Reform for Third Graders: Rep. Weiner v. Tracy Flick?
Published on April 22, 2009 06:44 AM
Category: Contributions & Limits
The New York Daily News has an item in the ongoing tit-for-tat fued between New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has criticized the mayor for running self-funded campaigns. It's not often that campaign finance "reformers" make statements as patently ridiculous as this gem from Weiner, but it almost slips by without notice at the end of the story: "He lost an election in the third grade because his rival handed out lollipops — a moment [Weiner] called 'h
'One billion dollars!'
Published on April 16, 2009 10:05 AM
Category: Contributions & Limits
This week, a California government agency released a hyperbolic screed against money in politics, bemoaning the fact that in the past nine years candidates raised about $1 billion to fund their campaigns. That figure prompted a rant from the Ross Johnson, the chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission: "The $1,006,638,463 directly raised by officeholders and candidates works out to $344,503 per day or $14,354 per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and
