New campaign finance laws and the 2010 midterm elections
On December 21, 2010, the supreme court handed down a landmark ruling; corporate campaign donations can not be limited due to the first amendment rights of corporations. The case leading to the decision is known as FEC vs. Citizens United; which reversed the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002. The question that arises as a result of the decision is, how/will the mid-term elections be affected?
Simple logic says the changed laws will likely favor Republican candidates, due to the fact that corporations generally prefer Republican economic policy over Democrats’. Obama was quick to respond, asking congress to quickly propose legislation to challenge the ruling. Democrats have taken on Obama’s request and have introduced the Disclosure Act, aimed to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, prohibiting spending from certain parties, as well as requiring further disclosure prior to funding (according to opencongress.org). It so happens that most Republicans oppose the disclosure act, whereas most Democrats support it. This may be because Democrats fear the effect of the new campaign finance laws will have on whether they will be employed after November or not.
Shortly after the supreme court ruling, an article ran on a Wall Street Journal blog. In the article Ken Gross was interviewed; the head of Skadden’s political law practice. His thoughts were that in our current times of economic despair; “It might take some time before the impact really takes hold. It might be 2012, not 2010.”
To those not familiar with the American political process, this supreme court ruling may seem of little significance. This could not be farther from the truth. The ruling overturned a twenty year old supreme court ruling. America has not seen this kind of limitless campaign donating in the last 100 years. It will be interesting to see which political party gains momentum this November, if the political pendulum swings to the right, keep in mind FEC vs. Citizens United.
I found this information by using google search, and its other searching components, such as related searches and the wonder wheel.
