Campaign financing in our nation is corrupting our political system with secret money from special interests and large outside funders.
Tell your Senators that you want to clean up our political system.
WASHINGTON (March 13, 2012) -- Nine government watchdog organizations today asked Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, as well as President Barack Obama, to reveal more details about fundraisers for their presidential campaigns who "bundle" contributions in amounts greatly exceeding what they're permitted to contribute on their own.
The League and government watchdog organizations today asked presidential candidates and President Barack Obama, to reveal more details about fundraisers for their presidential campaigns who "bundle" contributions in amounts greatly exceeding what they're permitted to contribute on their own. The request for more transparency comes during Sunshine Week and an election during which the candidates, party committees and outside groups are expected to spend more than ever before. Read the full release and letters here.
LEAGUE AND PARTNERS SURPASS FEC PETITION GOAL
Await Response from President Obama on Enforcing Campaign Finance Laws
Washington, DC - Today, the League of Women Voters announced they had surpassed their goal of 25,000 petition signatures on the White House "We the People" website that asks President Obama to appoint new commissioners to the malfunctioning Federal Election Commission (FEC). The League and partners Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy21 and Public Citizen launched the petition drive on January 11 in order to get a response from the Administration on this critical issue that, to date, it has ignored.
"The Obama campaign’s decision this week to allow surrogates to assist Super PACs in raising funds illustrates how broken the system is and that the FEC is asleep at the switch," said Elisabeth MacNamara, national League President. "The only reason that the leading presidential campaigns of both political parties are able to work with the Super PACs is that the FEC is not enforcing the law. Indeed the FEC says this is acceptable. Our democracy needs a fully-functioning FEC," said MacNamara.
Tomorrow night, President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. There are many important issues for the President to discuss, most importantly the state of our economy. We, like many of you, are keenly interested in what he will say.
According to some news reports, the President may propose political changes in a number of areas, including the financing of political campaigns.
The U.S. Supreme Court issues many opinions each year and it is safe to say they all greatly impact the lives of Americans in some way. The Supreme Court’s opinion two years ago in Citizens United v. FEC is by all accounts one that has dramatically changed the landscape of modern political campaigns in America.