John McCain Calls Citizens United ‘Worst Decision’ | Colmes Quarters

"I would still argue that the worst decision the Supreme Court made was Citizens United, which has unleashed this flood of billions of dollars of unaccounted-for money that will sooner or later, that will lead to enough corruption that we will have a reform," the Arizona Senator told 12 News.
http://radio.foxnews.com/2015/05/29/john-mccain-calls-citizens-united-worst-decision/

Campaign Finance and American Democracy - Annual Review of Political Science, 18(1):329

This article considers the vast academic literature on campaign finance regulation in the United States, drawing on the fields of political theory, American politics, election law, constitutional law, and economics. The scholarly treatment of campaign finance regulation has become increasingly focused on fundamental questions about democratic governance and democratic values, and it has generated profound debates about participation, representation, free speech, political equality, liberty, and the organization and distribution of political power in government and society. This article reviews the original debate about campaign finance regulation and traces its evolution in both political theory and constitutional law, identifying current areas of inquiry and new directions in research. In particular, the article focuses on corruption, political equality and representation, electoral exceptionalism, and the post–Citizens United landscape. It also surveys empirical findings from political science and economics.
Go to full-text...
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-polisci-010814-104523

Poll tax and filing fees were once considered a no by the Supreme Court

http://billmoyers.com/2015/05/27/money-primary-undermining-voting-rights/

Enough: Anti-corruption/pro-equality Dems must... | LESSIG Blog, v2

I've got a piece in The Atlantic today that's been a bit prettified by the headline ("Could Hillary Clinton Be the Champion Campaign-Finance Reform Needs?"). That makes the essay sound more optimistic (about Clinton) than it is. Also left on the cutting room floor were the following paragraphs (the part in brackets precedes and then follows the omitted paragraphs).   Reading this all together I hope conveys my strong sense here: That pro-reform Dems need to draw a line. What we've seen so far is no where close to enough to overcome the grave doubts raised by this mess. 
http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/120125572307/enough-anti-corruption-pro-equality-dems-must

Jimmy Carter says when he ran against Gerald Ford, he didn't raise any money | PolitiFact

That was the first presidential election run under the post-Watergate amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act. Under this law, presidential candidates were able to receive a partial federal match for money they raised for the primary, up to $5 million. For the general election, candidates could receive full federal funding, up to $20 million, as long as they raised no private money for the general election and stuck to expenditure limits.

We were able to obtain original campaign-finance documentation during a visit to the public records room of the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/feb/26/jimmy-carter/jimmy-carter-says-when-he-ran-against-gerald-ford-/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/money-money-money-money-money-money-money/2015/05/19/6d69633e-fe3e-11e4-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html

Justice Stevens Rips Citizens United, But Disagrees With Hillary Clinton's Litmus Test | Stephen Spaulding

Justice Stevens also suggested that debate on a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United may prompt important changes in jurisprudence. "Even if a particular amendment is not adopted, I think putting it before the country as a whole and increasing attention to an issue, and debating it on the merits, may actually help change the law even if the amendment should not be adopted," he said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-spaulding/justice-stevens-rips-citi_b_7424068.html

http://mediamatters.org/video/2015/05/22/watch-this-atlanta-tv-station-expose-alecs-infl/203745

Hillary Clinton 2016: Campaign sets $2 billion fundraising goal - POLITICO

One month into her bid for the presidency — and without even the prospect of a serious primary challenge — Clinton's schedule is already straining under the gargantuan task of raising somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion, the estimated amount that it will take to elect her to the White House.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/hillary-clinton-fundraising-goal-2-billion-118183.html?hp=lc1_4_b1

How the Money Primary Is Undermining Voting Rights | The Nation

The "wealth primary" that Raskin and Bonifaz described in the 1992 election—the last time a Clinton ran against a Bush—will be exponentially worse in 2016, when it's possible that a Clinton and a Bush will again square off. The 1992 presidential election cost $331 million; the 2012 race cost $2.6 billion. The most expensive Senate race in 1992 cost $18 million, compared with $120 million in 2014.
http://www.thenation.com/article/207713/how-money-primary-undermining-voting-rights

Why Citizens United Just Scratches the Surface

We need the next generation of democracy-friendly justices to not just overturn Citizens United, but revisit Buckley, which is also the case that gave us the dubious principle that "money is speech." More important, the Court needs to consider a broader set of values, beyond just clean governance, as compelling reasons to limit big money: from guaranteeing all Americans the opportunity for an equal voice in the political process to promoting government that's accountable to voters, not just a few wealthy donors.
http://prospect.org/article/why-citizens-united-just-scratches-surface#.VVz9hBBClEE.twitter

Guest writer: For real democracy

To renew this promise, we must use our power as a people under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to enact a constitutional amendment that will end the big-money dominance of our elections and level the playing field for all, regardless of economic status.


http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/may/18/for-real-democracy-20150518/

Big money behind Kentucky's other horse race | Center for Public Integrity

The biggest contest is on the Republican side of the gubernatorial race where voters will choose between frontrunner and former legislator Hal Heiner, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, entrepreneur Matt Bevin and former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott. The winner will likely face Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, who appears poised to cruise past retired engineer Geoff Young in the Democratic heat.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/05/18/17330/big-money-behind-kentuckys-other-horse-race?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-ae239ee9fb-100349417&mc_cid=ae239ee9fb&mc_eid=fa3bdb5b70

U.S. Supreme Court is asked to shield major donors in California - LA Times

​....................................​

Requiring disclosure to "political officeholders" would "violate the privacy of its donors," lawyers for the Center for Competitive Politics said in an emergency appeal filed with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-donors-20150517-story.html

Supreme Court Won’t Block Probe of Scott Walker’s Recall Campaign - Bloomberg Politics

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to end a state investigation into Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign, rejecting an appeal from a conservative group that says its constitutional rights are being violated.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-18/u-s-high-court-won-t-block-probe-of-walker-s-recall-campaign

The Pro-Money Court: How the Roberts Supreme Court Dismantled Campaign Finance Law | Brennan Center for Justice

The Supreme Court's McCutcheon v. FEC decision further increases the influence of big money in elections. But McCutcheon is just the latest in a long string of cases weakening campaign finance rules. Since Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito joined the Court in 2005 and 2006 respectively, six decisions have significantly reshaped the legal landscape dictating how much big money can flow into political races. Here is some background on what the Court did, how it affected American elections, and what could happen next.
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/pro-money-supreme-court

Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Scott Walker Campaign Finance Dispute

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid to stop an investigation in Wisconsin into possible unlawful coordination between potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker's gubernatorial campaign and conservative advocacy groups.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/supreme-court-campaign-finance_n_7306210.html

Julie Mason With Dave Levinthal Of The Center For Public Integrity - SoundCloud

​Money in Politics ?​

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/julie-mason-with-dave-levinthal-of-the-center-for-public-integrity

Carly Fiorina, GOP Field Targeted by Pressure Group for Defense Firms

​This too is money in politics.​

MILITARY CONTRACTORS BEHIND NEW PRESSURE GROUP TARGETING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/09/military-contractors-form-group-pressure-2016-candidates-adopt-hawkish-positions/

Explore Campaign Finance by Solomon Kahn — Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/12095995/explore-campaign-finance

Bill And Hillary Clinton Rob Inequality Of Its Unrelenting Beauty - Forbes

To be fair to the Clintons, they're hardly alone.  This isn't a Democrat or Republican thing.  It's a national politics thing. Politicians claim to enter what is nowadays a profession with 'public service' in mind, but as their soaring net worth in and out office plainly reveals, men and women enter politics in the U.S. to get rich.  As evidenced by their earnings, the Clintons are simply the best at a game played by Democrats and Republicans alike.  Maybe an unsung reason why Americans despise politicians so much has to do with intuitive knowledge that their arrogance is entirely unearned.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2015/05/17/bill-and-hillary-clinton-rob-inequality-of-its-unrelenting-beauty/2/

Wall Street Analyst Encouraged Rail Company to Lobby Against Train Safety Rules - The Intercept

As journalist David Sirota reported, in March of this year, the Senate committee that oversees rail issues "approved a bipartisan bill to delay by an additional five years the requirement for the new [PTC] technology. Among the sections of the system that were then still without the safety gear: the tracks stretching between New York City and Washington."
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/15/wall-street-analyst-demanded-rail-industry-invest-lobbying-train-speed-safety-regulations/

Hillary Clinton personally took money from companies that sought to influence her - Vox

During Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, Corning lobbied the department on a variety of trade issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The company has donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to her family's foundation. And, last July, when it was clear that Clinton would again seek the presidency in 2016, Corning coughed up a $225,500 honorarium for Clinton to speak.
https://www.vox.com/2015/5/16/8614881/Hillary-Clinton-took-money

Moyers on America: Capitol Crimes on Vimeo

In this clip, we learn how Jack Abramoff became the natural choice for the so-called K Street Project because of his close ties with the Republican National Committee, Christian Coalition and Tom DeLay. But it was Grover Norquist who was Abramoff's key into the lucrative world of lobbying. This clip is from the show "Capitol Crimes," in which Bill Moyers untangles the web of relationships, secret deals and political manipulation to open a disturbing window on the dark side of American politics.
https://vimeo.com/125506515

Clinton Family Continues Raking In Personal Cash From Firms That Lobbied Hillary Clinton’s State Department

Hillary Clinton was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees last year by two business entities that previously made personal payments to her husband Bill Clinton while they lobbied the Hillary Clinton-run U.S. State Department. Altogether, Hillary Clinton was paid $2.2 million in 2014 by those two entities that lobbied the State Department while she was secretary of state, according to the latest financial-disclosure form she filed with the Federal Election Commission.
http://www.ibtimes.com/clinton-family-continues-raking-personal-cash-firms-lobbied-hillary-clintons-state-1925738

Democracy in small states | LESSIG Blog, v2

http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/118995215027/democracy-in-small-states

Resolution Calls for Constitutional Amendment Negating Citizens United

Big money flooding elections has been an increasingly fraught issue since the United States Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case which allowed independent political spending as a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment. The proposed constitutional amendment would invalidate that decision - Kallos move in the New York City Council is indicative of a growing national movement in favor of negating the Court's decision.
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5725-resolution-calls-for-constitutional-amendment-negating-citizens-united

Conference on the Constitutional Convention: Legal Panel - YouTube

Uploaded on Oct 6, 2011
In a discussion moderated by Conference Co-chair and HLS Professor Lawrence Lessig, panelists John Baker, Nick Dranias, Sanford Levinson, Barbara Perry, and HLS Professor and constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe considered the structures that would define an Article V Convention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbJ7NOF3HRU

Hillary Clinton’s litmus test for Supreme Court nominees: a pledge to overturn Citizens United - The Washington Post

Clinton has made overhauling the current campaign finance system one of the major planks of her campaign, even as she has tacitly endorsed the efforts of two big-money super PACs working to help get her elected in 2016 -- Priorities USA Action and Correct the Record. Advisers have said that they cannot reject such vehicles when they are being vigorously embraced by the Republican field.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/05/14/hillary-clintons-litmus-test-for-supreme-court-nominees-a-pledge-to-overturn-citizens-united/

http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/ny_assembly_votes_to_close_campaign_finance_llc_loophole.html

US taxpayers subsidising world's biggest fossil fuel companies | Environment | The Guardian

A Guardian investigation of three specific projects, run by Shell, ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum, has revealed that the subsidises were all granted by politicians who received significant campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/12/us-taxpayers-subsidising-worlds-biggest-fossil-fuel-companies?CMP=ema_565

Bernie Sanders takes dead aim on Citizens United ruling - Eliza Collins - POLITICO

Sen. Bernie Sanders hates the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling and if he becomes president he'll make sure his Supreme Court nominees vote to overturn it, he said Sunday.

"If elected president, I will have a litmus test in terms of my nominee to be a Supreme Court justice and that nominee will say that they are going to overturn this disastrous Supreme Court decision," the Vermont independent said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/bernie-sanders-takes-dead-aim-on-citizens-united-ruling-117792.html

Democrats embrace the logic of ‘Citizens United’ - The Washington Post

Corruption is not just a contract. Corruption is also a kind of economy — an economy of influence that leads any sane soul to the fair belief that private influence has affected public policy. It is for this reason that practically every Democrat has insisted that the court's Citizens United decision (and its progeny) needs to be reversed. It is this idea that has motivated millions to petition Congress to propose an amendment for that reversal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-clintons-citizens-united-and-21st-century-corruption/2015/05/08/7f11a0d6-f57b-11e4-b2f3-af5479e6bbdd_story.html

Episode 17: Avoiding the Electorate « LRB blog

the absence of visual signals makes it seem as if the election has retreated from public space. Given that the politicians are also retreating and seem deeply frightened of real contact with the electorate, that's unfortunate. Avoiding 'unscripted' encounters with the electorate is the same as avoiding the electorate.
The Americanisation and professionalisation of our politics has helped to break this general election.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2015/05/04/john-lanchester/episode-17-avoiding-the-electorate/

Hillary Clinton Isn't Ready to Disclose Who's Funding Her Campaign | Mother Jones

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/hillary-clinton-bundler-disclosure-campaign-finance

It's Not the 1 Percent Controlling Politics. It's the 0.01 Percent. | Mother Jones

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/04/one-percent-campaign-giving

The FEC Is Already Throwing In The Towel On Enforcing Campaign Finance Law For 2016 | ThinkProgress

"The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim," Federal Election Commission (FEC) chair Ann Ravel told the New York Times. "People think the F.E.C. is dysfunctional. It's worse than dysfunctional…There is not going to be any real enforcement [for the 2016 election]."
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/05/06/3655397/fec-already-throwing-towel-enforcing-campaign-finance-law-2016/

The Obama Administration Could Limit Secretive Political Ads Before 2016. Will It?

Thanks to the rise of super PACs, Americans don't always know who is paying for political attack ads on TV and radio. In one particularly confusing example, a California vintner spent over $1.2 million in 2013 backing a Republican candidate behind the veil of a super PAC called "Americans for Progressive Action." Prominent Democrats, including presidential contender Hillary Clinton, have promised to reform secretive campaign spending.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/05/the-obama-administration-_0_n_7214008.html

Sick of Money Corrupting Politics? Take the Fight Local. | BillMoyers.com

Real change isn't decades away. In fact, it's already happening. In 2015 and 2016, Represent.Us is working to pass Anti-Corruption Acts in 12 cities and 2 states. If you'd like to nominate your city for a local Anti-Corruption Act, raise your hand here, and we'll help you make it happen.
http://billmoyers.com/2015/02/23/sick-money-corrupting-politics-take-fight-local/

Charleston Daily Mail | Bill to remove political contribution limits sent to subcommittee

Legislation that would eliminate all campaign contribution limitations and allow for unlimited donations to candidates running for public office in West Virginia was sent to a Senate subcommittee late Tuesday evening
http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20150225/DM01/150229574/1276

Corinthian Colleges Secretly Funded D.C. Think Tanks, Dark Money Election Efforts - The Intercept

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/04/bankruptcy-filing-shows-corinthian-colleges-secretly-funded-d-c-think-tanks-dark-money-election-efforts/

Citizens United: The view from the ivory tower has a blind spot | TheHill

Citizens United: The view from the ivory tower has a blind spot | TheHill

This historic drive for the 28th Amendment is a wonderful sign that we Americans still have what it takes to block attempts to enshrine inequality and privilege into Constitutional doctrine.  But two very small and unduly powerful elites aren’t happy. One of those, of course, is the 1 percent who use campaign contributions and Super PACs to gain access and influence in Washington. The second one is a set of liberal law professors that include Kent Greenfield at Boston College, Rick Hasen at University of California-Irvine, and sometimes, when he is not saying he favors an amendment, Larry Lessig at Harvard. 

In Defense of Hillary Clinton, Democrats Embrace Citizens United Decision (from @Truthdig)

In Defense of Hillary Clinton, Democrats Embrace Citizens United Decision (from @Truthdig)

When the ruling was handed down, Democrats were outraged, and Hillary Clinton herself has recently suggested she wants it overturned. Yet with revelations that firms with business before Clinton’s State Department donated to her foundation and paid her husband, Clinton’s campaign and rank-and-file Democratic activists are suddenly championing the Citizens United theory.