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New appointees are long overdue but is the FEC broken?
By Keenan Steiner Apr 30, 2013 6:25 p.m.Is the Federal Election Commission broken? That's the question a watchdog group asked a panel of experts on the day that the last of the current commissioners' terms expired, leaving the agency that oversees campaign finance law with one vacancy and five holdovers. Campaign finance reformers used the occasion to call on President Barack Obama to appoint new commissioners, something the president hasn't bothered to do since the Senate refused to act on his last nominee.
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Teddy Turner gives himself $30 K as S.C. House race heads into home stretch
By Kathy Kiely Mar 14, 2013 3:01 p.m.Political upstart Teddy Turner bankrolls himself as corporate bigs bankroll disgraced ex-Gov. Mark Sanford in a lively special election for a South Carolina House seat.
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With court case looming, FEC has trouble deciding how to say it can't decide
By Keenan Steiner Mar 8, 2013 9:17 a.m.The issue at the Federal Election Commission Thursday: Deciding how to say "we can't decide."
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Supreme Court to review limits on campaign contributions
By Bill Allison Feb 19, 2013 5:21 p.m.A case that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear next fall challenges campaign spending limits that have been in place since the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon.
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Incoming FEC chair's wish list for 2013
By Keenan Steiner Dec 21, 2012 4:22 p.m.With the end of the year, the six federal election commissioners are preparing to play their annual game of musical chairs. That means a new chair of the commission for 2013. She has lots she wants to accomplish.
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FEC says yes to texting, no to Yamaha
By Keenan Steiner Dec 21, 2012 12:19 p.m.At its last meeting of the year Thursday, the Federal Election Commission approved a new way to charge donors who want to give to political committees via text message. But it did not approve a proposed novel way for companies to bulk up their political action committees' receipts -- by soliciting independent dealers that sell their products.
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After election, dozens of super PACs shut down
By Jake Harper Nov 16, 2012 4:51 p.m.The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Colbert Super PAC SHH! - Secret Second 501c4 - Trevor Potter www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive
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Outside spenders dump $210 million into last full week of the campaign
By Jake Harper Nov 2, 2012 10:38 a.m.In the last full week before the election, outside spending groups have bombarded voters with a record $210 million in ads, direct mail, and other political expenditures, and, as in weeks past, the vast majority of the funds went to support Republican candidates. Since Sept. 7 -- when the FEC began requiring all groups to disclose independent expenditures, regardless of the content -- the rate of outside spending has ballooned, reaching a new high this week. A Sunlight analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows that organizations dropped $132.6 million to back Republicans in the period between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, while just $76.4 went to help Democrats. That compares to $26 million for the second week of September.
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Week's outside spending favors Republicans 2:1
By Jake Harper Oct 26, 2012 1:02 p.m.Less than two weeks before the election, outside spending took another big leap last week, jumping to $180 million since last Friday favoring Republicans nearly two-to-one.
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Obama September surge leaves Romney in a $360 million hole
By Bill Allison Oct 9, 2012 3:19 p.m.Unless Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney persuaded donors to cough up $360 million in September, President Barack Obama will remain the all-time king of political fundraising.
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Buzzfeed's five surprising charts show impact of Citizens United
By Bill Allison Sep 27, 2012 3:02 p.m.Buzzfeed offers five surprising charts about political money in the 2012 election cycle, feeding off of this recent release from the Federal Election Commission tallying up contributions and spending through June 2012. What they show--by omission--is how much Citizens United and subsequent court decisions and FEC rulings have changed the way campaigns raise and spend money. A few examples:
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Gross Political Product: Outside campaign spending tops 2010 total
By Kathy Kiely Sep 23, 2012 9:09 p.m.In a campaign that's supposed to be about an ailing economy, there's just one financial indicator that remains consistently robust: Call it the Gross Political Product.
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Election law? What election law?
By Kathy Kiely Aug 31, 2012 8:37 a.m.A Republican lawyer wonders where the FEC enforcers are and a donor sneaks a reporter into a Karl Rove meeting for financiers. Are even the bankrollers getting fed up with the political big money game?
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Libertarian think tank: Get behind DISCLOSE (or something like it)
By Keenan Steiner Jun 8, 2012 7:22 p.m.A bill requiring super PACs and other outside political groups to include the names of top donors on their ads will hit the Senate floor next month, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said Friday. Meanwhile, an unlikely source warned the Republicans who are expected to filibuster it that they are standing in the way of the inevitable.
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