Hidden campaign cash
Washington Post - Editorial
THE CAMPAIGN is over, but the broken campaign finance system remains. The flood of money into politics in the past two years, including millions of dollars from hidden donors, was unlike anything since the post-Watergate reforms of the 1970s and will only grow worse unless something is done.
Many fingers have been pointed at the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision for opening the floodgates to unlimited donations by corporations, wealthy citizens and labor unions. Certainly, that was a major factor but not the only one.
The biggest expansion has been in so-called outside money — contributions that are not directly to a candidate or a party and on which there are no limits. READ MORE
Sheldon Adelson met with John Boehner, Eric Cantor
Politico
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson met separately with House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and senior Republican campaign officials during a trip to Washington this week, sources familiar with his schedule told POLITICO.
Adelson, the billionaire who owns the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, donated more than $100 million to conservative causes during the 2012 election cycle. Adelson recently told the Wall Street Journal that he could “spend that much and more” in future political campaigns, and POLITICO reported he recently met with three GOP governors said to be eying the 2016 presidential race.
Sources in Boehner and Cantor’s office declined comment, and would not detail the topic of conversation in the meetings. Adelson also met with senior officials at the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Spokesmen for those groups did not immediately respond to questions about the nature of the meetings. READ MORE
Adelsons' $10 million checks revealed among last-minute campaign donations
Sunlight Foundation
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, each wrote $10 million checks to American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by Republican political guru Karl Rove, in the closing weeks of the campaign.
The mega-contributions were among the more startling findings Thursday, as post-election reports from campaign committees rolled in ahead of a midnight deadline at the Federal Election Commission. READ MORE
In campaign's final weeks, Romney raised nearly $86 million
Los Angeles Times
Mitt Romney raised more than $85.9 million in the last two weeks of the presidential race, his campaign announced Thursday, detailing the GOP hopeful’s final money push in his ultimately unsuccessful bid against President Obama.
“Romney Victory continued its strong fundraising through the final weeks of the campaign,” finance chairman Spencer Zwick said in a statement. “Every dollar we raised was put to use in the effort to elect Mitt Romney. I want to thank all of our donors for their support and in making the Romney fundraising effort the most successful in Republican Party history."
More details on the campaign’s late fundraising and spending are expected later Thursday, as finance reports are due to the Federal Election Commission. The reports cover Oct. 18 though Nov. 26. READ MORE
Adelsons' $10 million checks revealed among last-minute campaign donations
Sunlight Foundation
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, each wrote $10 million checks to American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by Republican political guru Karl Rove, in the closing weeks of the campaign.
The mega-contributions were among the more startling findings Thursday, as post-election reports from campaign committees rolled in ahead of a midnight deadline at the Federal Election Commission.
The Adelsons' $10 million checks were written Oct. 19, two days after the last pre-election campaign finance reports were due at the FEC. On Oct. 30, the Adelsons each wrote another check worth $1.5 million, bringing their grand total of giving to American Crossroads in the final month of the campaign to $23 million, or 61 percent of the group's contributions for the period. And, as detailed below, the couple also gave generously to a number of other committees. They appear to have added some $38 million to their already jaw-dropping political contribution total, which now appears to be approaching the $90 million for the 2012 campaign. READ MORE
FCC's plan for fixing its political ads transparency site? It won't say
ProPublica
When the Federal Communications Commission passed a rule earlier this year to require TV stations to post political ad buying information online, public interest groups (and ProPublica) welcomed the policy as a means to get an unprecedented look at how billions of campaign dollars flow around the country.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called the rule a victory for transparency, saying the disclosure requirements are “part of the public’s basic contract with broadcasters in exchange for use of the spectrum and other benefits.”
But, in practice, attempts to create a full picture of political ad spending from the TV station files exposed deep flaws in the FCC’s effort as well as spotty compliance by the stations themselves. READ MORE