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Campaign finance laws in the United States have been a contentious political issue since the early days of the union. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, also known as "McCain-Feingold", is the most recent major federal law affecting campaign finance, the key provisions of which prohibited unregulated contributions to national political parties and limited the use of corporate and union money to fund ads discussing political issues within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election, until BCRA's provisions limiting corporate and union expenditures for issue advertising were overturned in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life.
In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC has been created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is the primary United States federal law regulating political campaign fundraising and spending. The law originally focused on increased disclosure of contributions for federal political campaigns. The Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on February 7, 1972.
Roy Dean Blunt is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Secretary of State (1985–1993) and U.S. Representative for Missouri's 7th congressional district (1997–2011).
Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency. Although most campaign spending is privately financed, public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the general election. Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits on money.
Americans for a Republican Majority was a political action committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and directed by Karl Gallant. On July 7, 2006 ARMPAC reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay a fine of $115,000 for various violations and to shut down operations. It filed its termination papers on April 24, 2007.
Bloomin' Brands, Inc. is a restaurant holding company that owns several American casual dining restaurant chains. The company was established in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, where it is headquartered.
Mark B. Templeton is an American businessman. He served as the President and CEO of Citrix Systems, Inc. from 2001 to 2015.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Missouri took place on November 2, 2010 alongside 36 other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Primary elections were held on August 3, 2010. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kit Bond decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican nominee Roy Blunt won the open seat.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the relationship between campaign finance and free speech. It was argued in 2009 and decided in 2010. The court held that the free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.
American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United. Its president is Steven J. Law, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Labor for President George W. Bush and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan. Advisers to the group include Senior Advisor and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow was a United States political action committee (PAC) established by Stephen Colbert, who portrayed Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, a mock-conservative political pundit on Comedy Central's satirical television series The Colbert Report. As a super PAC the organization could raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions and other groups, as well as wealthy individuals. Speaking in character, Colbert said the money would be raised not only for political ads, but also "normal administrative expenses, including but not limited to, luxury hotel stays, private jet travel, and PAC mementos from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus."
In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to political spending by nonprofit organizations—for example, 501(c)(4) 501(c)(5) (unions) and 501(c)(6) groups—that are not required to disclose their donors. Such organizations can receive unlimited donations from corporations, individuals and unions. In this way, their donors can spend funds to influence elections, without voters knowing where the money came from. Dark money first entered politics with Buckley v. Valeo (1976) when the United States Supreme Court laid out Eight Magic Words that define the difference between electioneering and issue advocacy.
Jonathan Tivadar Soros is the founder and chief executive officer of JS Capital Management LLC, a private investment firm. Prior to that, Soros worked at Soros Fund Management in daily operations and was co-deputy chairman of the organization.
American Bridge 21st Century or AB PAC is a liberal American Super PAC that supports Democratic candidates and opposes Republican candidates. It was founded by David Brock in 2010 and is associated with Media Matters for America. It is an opposition research hub for the Democratic Party. The group physically tracks and monitors Republican candidates and officials and uses social media to deploy its findings.
Andrew Blunt is a Missouri political consultant and founder of state-based consulting firm Statehouse Strategies LLC. He is the son of Missouri Senator Roy Blunt and the brother of former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt. The Missouri Times named Andy Blunt one of the 100+ people to know in Missouri politics for the previous four years, stating, “If this list was the 5+ [people to know], Andy Blunt would still be on it.” Blunt's extensive client list has been credited by some to his diverse range of experiences and relationships at the Missouri state capital, while others assert that his clients are attracted to the influence he has on his father. Blunt is a state lobbyist and does not lobby the federal government.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is an American advocacy group that promotes the emerging industry behind blockchain technology, bitcoin, digital currency and digital assets.
Shadow campaigns refers to spending meant to influence political outcomes where the source of the money is not publicly disclosed or is difficult to trace. United States campaign finance law has been regulated by the Federal Election Commission since its creation in the wake of the Watergate Scandal in 1975, and in the years following Citizens United v. FEC, there has been a rise in outside special interest groups spending money on political campaigns in the United States. Dark money leaves voters uninformed about important political information and it can obscure potential conflicts of interest for judges and legislators alike.
Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal "dark money" network. It was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler. The Arabella network spent nearly $1.2 billion in 2020.
References
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "Rely on Your Beliefs PAC Donors • OpenSecrets".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".
- ↑ "FEC Disclosure Report Search Results".