campaign finance

Crosspost from 'Dumbed Down Politicos' at blogspot:

Transparent Government: How do we get there?

...reversing the attitude that “the ends justify the means” is required for Democracy to prevail over oligarchy. The US until recently had a meritocracy, but I believe that lack of transparency in government transactions--especially campaign funding--has led our country to become an oligarchy.

Read More here: http://www.brockcommunications.net/

I just resurfaced from a four hour plunge into Myers Park Pat's 3rd Quarter campaign finance report, and I want to echo a friend's recent observation:

gregflynn‏@gregflynn Suspiciously large number of maximum $4K contributions to Pat McCrory from "New Breed" employees #ncpol #ncgov

We've talked about New Breed's activities before, in relation to their pursuit of (Federal) government contracts. But they didn't seem to be that interested in state-level politics. Until Pat McCrory came along, that is:

Koch Industries, the Kansas-based oil and chemical conglomerate whose owners Charles and David Koch have played a leading role in financing the fight against government regulation, is stepping up its investment in North Carolina politics at a critical moment for the state's energy future.

Here is a recording we did for the Institute on Southern Studies' report on Real Jobs NC election influence. Recently filed reports with the IRS indicate the group is looking in repeat their 2010 election influence.

Listen via SoundCloud:

From the High Country Press

David vs. Goliath:’ U.S. Rep. Foxx has 135 Times More Cash on Hand than Opponent Elisabeth Motsinger

By Jesse Wood

Elizabeth Motsinger

Aug. 28, 2012. Vying for a seat in the U.S. House in November, Elisabeth Motsinger faces incumbent U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) at a serious disadvantage.

Foxx has 135 times more cash on hand than her opponent. The financial disparity is so striking that Motsinger has dubbed the race “David vs. Goliath.”

According to the latest quarterly campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Motsinger had $11,000 “cash on hand.” As of June 30, Foxx had $1.5 million in her coffers.

“Well, it is a huge gap if you believe elections should be bought and paid for. I don’t,” Motsinger said. “The big question is as American people, do we really want our votes paid for?”

One of the things I always like to look up before I make a donation to a candidate is to see who else is giving to the candidate. Here are a couple of links to sites I use:

Open Secrets

NC Board of Elections

Federal Election Commission

Stealthy political nonprofits reigned in the 2010 elections

Super PACs-Shmooper PACs, reports iWatch News’ Michael Beckel:

"While super PACs were cast as the big, bad wolves during the last election, the groups were outspent by “social welfare” organizations by a 3-2 margin, a trend that may continue amid reports that major donors are giving tens of millions of dollars to the secretive nonprofit groups."

A joint investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics has found that more than 100 nonprofits organized under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code spent roughly $95 million on political expenditures in the 2010 election compared with $65 million by super PACs.

Read the joint report on iWatch News or OpenSecrets Blog.

"Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: An Appraisal" will be the title of a town-meeting at Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, August 13, 2012. The panel participants will be John Samples, Director, Center for Representative Government, Cato Institute, Washington, DC and Press Millen, attorney with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice of Raleigh."

Announcement from Clay Stalnaker, retired professor of philosophy at NCSU in Raleigh.

The pace of the race in NC Senate District 22 picked up steam over the weekend, when during a routine search for campaign finance disclosures, we discovered that our opponent had failed to file organizational paperwork with the State Board of Elections.

When I called Kerry Sutton on Friday to let her know of the online find, Kerry, a defense attorney who is steady and meticulous with details said, "we need to get all the facts before we release any of this."

I was ready to go ahead and tell everyone, traditional media included, just because the "The Committee to Elect Mike Woodard" documents were not on the State Board of Elections website.

When desperation strikes, the truth comes out:

GOP House candidate Paul Coble today made the Super Pac formed by one of his opponents, George Holding an issue in the 13th congressional race, claiming that it would allow “massive and possibly unaccountable special interest money” to influence the GOP primary.

I was going to say, "No shit, Sherlock", but that's way too crude to type into a blog post. As far as the accountability, that will have to wait until it's too late for the (Republican) Primary voters to use the information in their decision-making: