CSPAN: Super Political Action Committees
Panelists talked about the influence of “Super PACS” on the 2012 elections and beyond. Per the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, independent expenditure-only committees, “Super PACS,” may may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals to spend unlimited sums in support or in opposition to political candidates.
Features CCP’s Allen Dickerson
Wall Street Journal, Larry Sabato: Do Endorsements Matter?
What about little-known state legislators and local sheriffs? Even low-level backing can attract the cameras and generate a positive story.
Note: Mr. Sabato is on CCP’s Board of Academic Advisors
Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Allen Dickerson: Citizens United, Shareholding Activists, And Political Speech: What Corporate Managers Need To Know
As a result, corporations themselves have become a crucial battleground. Politically active, mostly left-leaning, groups have increasingly turned to “activist investing” with the aim of limiting corporate political speech.
Politico: Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart put super PACs in public eye
Quotes Brad: “I think his super PAC stuff has largely been misleading the public,” he said. “He’s giving very misleading impressions about how disclosure obligations work, and he’s given a misleading understanding about why there are rules about coordination in politics.” The rule banning coordination is “intended to prevent campaign contributions from being essentially a substitute for bribery,” he said, and is not really as ridiculous as Colbert and Stewart try to make it seem.
Roll Call: Rules of the Game: Some Say Nixing Contribution Limits Will Level Playing Field
Quotes Brad: “These amendments dramatically overreach and haven’t really thought through very well what their consequences would be,” said Brad Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics. Smith’s group has filed a brief siding with the RNC in the Danielczyk case.
