Litigation

Midterm Elections to Bring Tides of Cash?

By Peter Hardin

In the upcoming midterm elections, advocacy groups on both sides of the political fence “are expected to pour tens of millions of dollars into loosely regulated independent election expenditures,” according to a CQPolitics.com article.

One of the expected top spenders will be the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A Chamber vice president, Bruce Josten, said his group hopes to pull in as much as $75 million to spend on election operations in such states as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.

While Democrats predict the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision will open the floodgates for spending by businesses and their coalitions, Josten said campaign spending disclosure legislation in Congress doesn’t make corporations happy.

?That does not compel companies to write checks,? Josten said. ?It is clearly a factor in the decision-making of corporations if in fact it does become law.?

The legislation has been passed by the House. In the Senate, it could face a Republican filibuster, according to a New York Times editorial.

You can read about the disclosure legislation in Congress, and similar bills in state legislatures, from Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on July 12, 2010 (boomark / email).