Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The buying of the presidency, 2008 edition

During the last election cycle, the Center for Public Integrity ran a series called "The Buying of the President."

We are now hearing about fortunes and tax returns and watching the candidates tweak their "branding" during the nominating season.

Unprecedented hundreds of millions, truly obscene amounts of money, are being collected not just for coalition building but for ads and tours that resemble those of rock stars. Combined expenditures for the 2008 cycle are set to reach at least a billion dollars. Documenting these developments is a new edition of the Buying of the President.

Here's a summary of the series:
  • I: Early efforts to limit the influence of big money in presidential politics
  • II: Scandals trigger grand reforms and ways to evade them
  • III: The epic Watergate scandal ushers in the most sweeping changes to campaign finance law in history
  • IV: A tidal wave of “soft money” washes through the law's loophole
  • V: A new breed of fat cats “bundles” billions to candidates as the federal campaign finance system crumbles
Listen to the podcast ("The Longest Campaign") here or download the MP3.

Other stories added include, Hillary Clinton’s Double Donors, The Kerry Precedent, Democrats Win Super Tuesday “Money Primary”, Move Over, Mitt, and Mitt Romney’s Deep Pockets

Just this week, the traditional media ran stories about the John McCain (whose wife inherited a fortune worth millions), his situation with respect to his own campaign finance law, the impressive amounts raised by the Obama campaign primarily from small donors over the Internet, and the $119 million the Clintons have pulled in since leaving the White House. The Center for Public Integrity is digging even deeper. If you've got a moment, take a look at what they've uncovered.

Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home