Auditing so-called social-welfare groups isn’t a mistake. The problem was the IRS chose its targets poorly
Campaign Finance
Q&A: New BEARD PAC Supports Only Bearded Candidates (Mustaches Need Not Apply)
Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy, or BEARD PAC, is officially accepting your donations online.
Obama’s Aides Bar Corporate Donations, But Other Routes Remain
Obama’s grassroots army, Organizing for Action, refuses unlimited funds from corporations just when Business Forward expands its efforts.
Want to Know Who’s Spending to Influence the Election? You Can Do Something About It.
On Monday, the non-profit news outfit ProPublica published a scoop: Defend My Dividend, a self-described grassroots organization backed by two trade groups with a vested interest tax issues, has been running tens of thousands of dollars in TV ads targeted at seniors in south Florida. In the vast world of outside political spending, such …
Why Romney Is Polishing Energy’s Apple
On Tuesday night in Dallas, Mitt Romney made one thing clear: he was not “just polishing the apple for T. Boone Pickens here,” he said, when he began his policy remarks at a fundraiser with Pickens, an oil and gas investor, by talking about energy.
The truth is, as Romney pointed out, he almost always starts talking policy by …
The 2012 Money Gap Grows
To win re-election, Barack Obama won’t be able to rely on the fundraising edge he rode four years ago. The incumbent president was outraised in July by Mitt Romney, the third consecutive month the challenger has held the …
The New Rules Of Campaign Finance: Small Dollars Are No Longer King
Four years ago, the presidential campaign was a celebration of the little guy. Two thirds of the money raised by Barack Obama came online, and 34% of his money came from donors who gave less than $200. This cycle, Obama is doing even better than he did in 2008 with small donors. Through June, 2.4 million Americans have given to his …
Billions For Ballots
Big money will flow through an array of groups supporting Obama and Romney this year. A TIME estimate of how much each group could pump into the campaign
The 2012 Money Race: Romney Relies on Big Donors, While Obama Taps the Grassroots
Mitt Romney is struggling to get everyday people to give small amounts to his campaign. For Barack Obama, the problem is attracting big bucks from wealthy donors.
Romney’s Big Fundraising Month and the Culture of Political Giving
Mitt Romney had a banner month in June. His campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $106 million, marking a large post-primary consolidation of Republican funds, and a full $35 million more than President Obama and …
Newt Gingrich Takes Italian Vacation While His Campaign Remains in Mop Up Mode
Everyone deserves a holiday, and barking about politicians’ vacations is standard practice (See: President Obama going to Martha’s Vineyard during the recession). But it seems fair to suggest that politicians invite scrutiny of …
Will the Supreme Court Consider a Campaign-Finance Mulligan?
The Affordable Care Act isn’t the only consequential law whose fate the U.S. Supreme Court holds in its hands. Before the end of the month, the court is also expected to decide whether to hear a Montana campaign-finance case that …
The Obama Campaign Tries Out a New Cellular Weapon
The Obama campaign fundraising machine has debuted a new text message tool with encouraging results for the President’s bean counters. On Wednesday, the Obama campaign sent out an SMS message to cell phones and smart phones of tens of thousands of previous donors asking them to give more money. “Support Pres Obama in less than a minute,” …
