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Political Spending: Civic Engagement is Not a Threat to Democracy
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

The First Amendment guarantees every American freedom of speech. That freedom includes the right to spend money on speech. Without money, a political group cannot buy ads, print fliers, organize protests, or hire staff. Short of shouting one’s opinions on a street corner, it takes money to spread a message. Recognizing this relationship, the Supreme Court has long prohibited the…

Record campaign spending for election is good for democracy
November 19, 2018   •  By Luke Wachob   •  ,

Election Day is like the Kentucky Derby for political nerds. It does not happen out of nowhere. A lot of people donate a lot ...

Money Doesn’t Buy Elections, “Dark Money” Keeps Falling, and Other Lessons from the 2018 Midterms
November 9, 2018   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  ,

Over the past year, many pundits and media outlets have speculated about the role of money in the 2018 midterm elections. Much of that ...

Spooky Spending on Halloween: Pet Costumes Dwarf So-Called “Dark Money”
October 31, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  ,

While the debate about what Halloween costumes are appropriate rages on, what isn’t up for debate is the greatness of the growing trend of ...

Advocacy Groups: Made from Love
October 19, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  , ,

Another day, another accusation about paid protesters. As the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process moved to its final stages, President Trump took to Twitter to ...

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