Tag Archives: Campaign Finance

After $16 Billion Election, Nonprofit Tracking Money in Politics Lays Off 1/3 of Staff

“This is an absolutely devastating development on the precipice of the next administration,” said one journalist.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 11-8-2024 by Common Dreams

Image: OpenSecrets

Journalists and other critics of how money influences U.S. politics expressed alarm and disappointment in response to Friday reporting that shortly after the nation’s latest election, the research nonprofit OpenSecrets had to lay off a third of its staff.

Citing a current staffer, Politico‘s Daniel Lippman revealed that OpenSecrets “laid off 10 employees yesterday due to financial difficulties” and “much of the research team were among the casualties, which constituted around a third of the group’s total headcount.”

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2024 ‘Virtually Certain’ to Be Hottest Year on Record: EU Climate Agency

A new report contained “the bleakest news possible, especially with a climate denier U.S. president in office for the next four years,” said one climate scientist.

By Julia Conley. Published 11-7-2024 by Common Dreams

© Friedrich Haag / Wikimedia Commons / “Visitors at the 2024 Easter fire in Rottorf, 2024 03 30” / CC BY-SA 4.0

A day after U.S. voters elected climate-denying Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race, soon ushering in an administration that is sure to expand fossil fuel drilling, the European Union’s Earth observation agency announced that 2024 is “virtually certain” to be the hottest year on record and to hit a worrying temperature milestone.

The year is expected to be the first on record in which the temperature is more than 1.5°C hotter than before the Industrial Revolution, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS). The Paris climate agreement of 2015 urged countries to curb greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of limiting planetary heating to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

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In Tiny State of Maine, a Big Election Day Win Against Dark Money in Politics

“Our greatest hope is to restore people’s faith in our democracy and increase participation across the board,” said the chair of the campaign behind the measure likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 11-6-2024 by Common Dreams

A sign in Maine promotes Question 1, which aims to get big money out of politics. (Photo: Maine Citizens to End Super PACs/Facebook)

As billionaire-backed Republicans dominated U.S. elections on Tuesday, voters in Maine—among the top 10 states in terms of smallest populations—overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to limit political spending, an initiative that could reach the country’s top court.

Maine Question 1 targets super political action committees (PACs), dark money groups that, for the most part, are barred from directly contributing or coordinating with a candidate but can raise and spend unlimited amounts of funds.

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Fearing More ‘Blatant Corruption’ in Second Trump Term, Watchdog Issues Ethics Blueprint

“Should the flagrant disregard of ethics rules return, the political opposition must use all tools at their disposal to advance ethics reforms and neutralize as much harm as possible.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 10-31-2024 by Common Dreams

Chicago welcomes Donald Trump to town Chicago Illinois 10-28-19. Photo: Charles Edward Miller/flickr/CC

A leading U.S. watchdog group on Thursday published what it called “a blueprint for strengthening the federal government’s ethics programs across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches” amid Democrats’ inadequate reforms and the prospect of more “outright scandals and blatant corruption” under a possible second administration of former Republican President Donald Trump.

The Revolving Door Project publication—titled Rebuilding Public Trust: Six Principles to Guide Reform—notes that “Americans’ trust in government is near historic lows, a trend that both preceded and continued after the blatant corruption of the Trump administration.”

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‘This Is Just the Traceable Money’: $2 Billion Pumped Into 2024 Election by Billionaire Families

“It’s no secret that political spending is a huge way for billionaires to rig the system to their liking,” said Americans for Tax Fairness. “Enough is enough.”

By Julia Conley. Published 10-29-2024 by Common Dreams

Miriam Adelson at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2023 Annual Leadership Summit at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/CC

A new analysis out Tuesday shows that 150 of the nation’s wealthiest families have poured nearly $2 billion into this year’s U.S. election—the latest evidence bolstering calls for new taxes on the super rich and an end to unlimited campaign spending.

The new report from Americans for Tax Fairness, published Tuesday, shows how spending by 150 of the richest families in the U.S. has smashed campaign spending records, with $700 million more spent than the $1.2 billion that wealthy donors poured into the 2020 campaign.

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How Crypto Giants Are ‘Exploiting’ Citizens United to Buy 2024 Elections

A new analysis and call for a constitutional amendment comes as reporting sheds light on Sen. JD Vance’s ties to a right-wing group backed by tech and digital currency investors.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-21-2024 by Common Dreams

Image: QuoteInspector.com

report out Wednesday takes aim at how giants of the cryptocurrency industry are using the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which opened the floodgates for dark money in political campaigns, to make a massive deregulatory push ahead of this year’s pivotal election.

Based on Public Citizen research director Rick Claypool’s analysis of federal election data from OpenSecrets, the consumer advocacy group accused the crypto industry of “exploiting” the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling “to an unprecedented degree, dwarfing direct corporate spending by Big Oil and other corporate sectors in the 2024 elections.”

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‘Turning Into the Super PAC Election’: Outside Spending Tops $1 Billion for 2024

“Outside group spending this year is almost double the rate of any prior year,” noted one critic. “Not a good thing.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 8-16-2024 by Common Dreams

Members of the Light Brigade protest money in politics in this undated photo. (Photo: Light Brigade/flickr/cc)

Empowered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling allowing unlimited independent financial contributions to support political campaigns, outside spending during the current election cycle has hit a record $1 billion, according to a report published Thursday by the watchdog group OpenSecrets.

“Super PACs and other outside groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money have poured about $1.1 billion into 2024 federal elections as of August 15—nearly twice what similar groups spent over the same period in the 2020 presidential election cycle when independent expenditures hit an all-time record,” OpenSecrets said.

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Lawmakers Move to Bar Foreign-Owned Corporations From Spending on US Elections

A new bill “closes a glaring loophole opened up by the Supreme’s Court disastrous Citizens United decision which allows U.S. companies primarily owned by foreign entities to funnel money into our elections,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin.

By Edward Carver. Published 7-11-2024 by Common Dreams

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in several major U.S. companies including Uber. Such companies have been allowed to spend freely on elections since 2010, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizen United. Photo: Ivan Radic/flickr/CC

Democratic lawmakers on Thursday introduced bills to the U.S. Senate and House seeking to ban corporations that are at least 5% foreign-owned from federal elections spending, drawing praise from advocacy groups.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act to the Senate and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) reintroduced the same bill to the House, with each version gaining co-sponsorship by progressive lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

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Fresh Calls to ‘Reject AIPAC’ After Analysis of GOP Money in Dem Primaries

“George Latimer in New York and Wesley Bell in Missouri are trying to become Democratic members of Congress off millions of dollars of money from rich right-wing Republicans,” said one group.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 6-9-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: Ted Eytan /CC

Politico reported Sunday that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is “the biggest source of Republican money flowing into competitive Democratic primaries this year,” sparking new calls for candidates and voters nationwide to #RejectAIPAC.

“If you don’t want Republican megadonors to choose your next Democratic congressperson for you, then there’s only one option: #RejectAIPAC,” Naftali Ehrenkranz, digital director at Get Free, said on social media, pointing to the reporting.

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Trump to Big Oil Execs: Give Me $1 Billion and I’ll Help You Wreck the Planet

“You won’t read a more important story today,” said one commentator. “Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion.”

By Jake Johnson. Published 5-9-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: Trump White House Archived/flickr

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a straightforward offer to some of the top fossil fuel executives in the United States during a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club last month, which marked the hottest April on record.

According to new reporting, Trump pledged to swiftly gut climate regulations put in place by the Biden administration if the oil and gas industry raises $1 billion for his 2024 presidential campaign.

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