Search

Monday, February 25, 2008

Lobbying, Electoral Politics

John McCain press conference on ties to a lobbyist:




Project Vote Smart collects interest group ratings.

The League of Conservation voters has a user-friendly scorecard.

It also offers a "hit list."

LCV, by the way, is a good example of an interest-group conglomerate.

LCV is a 501(c)(4). Thanks to the MCFL decision, it can do a limited amount of candidate activity. Here is an independent-expenditure ad:



See also The Club for Growth

Soft money still exists, albeit not "party" soft money.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in FEC vs. Wisconsin Right to Life that the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) cannot ban corporate and union money from paying for election ads and communications 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election — as long as the ads do not directly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or engage in the “functional equivalent."

No comments: