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CAMPAIGN FINANCE
In India, this is usually
referred to as "corruption", but we'll give the folks here a
slight benefit of the doubt.
12/23/02 <link>
Texas
GOP sweep financed >50% by just 48 wealthy Texan families
Mostly from big business, esp. energy industry. What's new.
12/9/02 <link>
Why
Senator John McCain is hopping mad.
12/5/02 <link>
As
Lord Acton said, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely
Trent Lott engages in power play to force Dem lobbyists out and fill
GOP offers exclusively.
11/6/2002 <link>
Clean
Elections in the U.S.? Apparently it is possible - as Arizona and
Maine showed
We applaud the legislators and citizens in Arizona and Maine
for their forward-looking support for their respective Clean Elections
laws. We are also encouraged by and congratulate the numerous
candidates who ran "Clean" campaigns in accordance with the
laws. In particular, it is a good sign that in spite of being a
Democrat challenging an incumbent Republican in a historically
Republican state, Governor-elect Janet Napolitano of Arizona was able
to run a "clean" campaign and win.
10/14/02 <link>
Gift laws routinely broken by our politicians and their aides
Remember when we said the Torch seems to have been the only
"fool" who actually got caught doing something illegal while
many others in the crowd fill their pockets? Well, this article only
provides more data to support that conclusion.
10/13/02 <link>
California
Gov. Davis' fundraising
Looks like he's trying to match President Bush, although he is nowhere
near the latter's records yet. Regardless, Gov. Davis' fundraising is
clearly showing favoritism and is unethical at the minimum. This is why Californians have such a tough decision
this Fall, even though Bill Simon has repeatedly shown himself to be
inept. What Mr. Davis has on his side, it seems, is that at least he
cannot be called inept at his job.
10/9/02 <link>
Campaign Finance Reform Bill being gutted by none other than the FEC
The bipartisan McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan campaign finance bill which was passed
just after Enron's implosion, is being diluted egregiously by the
Federal Election Commission thanks to four of its six commissioners - three
Republicans and one Democrat. To quote Sen. McCain, "They
are entitled to their opinions about the merits of the law, but they
are not entitled to substitute their opinions for the judgment of
Congress. Yet this is exactly what they did." Also, from
the article, "...In one example of the four
lawmakers' complaints about the rules, McCain said the commission
interpreted the law's ban on soliciting soft money so narrowly that
parties, candidates and officeholders could "recommend" or
"suggest" a contribution so long as they did not explicitly
"solicit" it. He also said that, although the law banned
national party groups from raising or spending soft money after the
law takes effect Nov. 6, the FEC approved a clause allowing
continuation of such activities by groups set up for this purpose
before the law takes effect...."
09/30/02 A day of contrasts
<link>
Campaign
finance records being set as we speak
The New York Times reports how soft money is being raised in bushels
before the convenient November deadline for the McCain-Feingold Bill
to kick in. Both Democrats and Republicans are competing to match each
other, with Mr. Bush's fundraising alone saving the day for
Republicans. Against this unbelievable backdrop, don't blame us if we
do not express our sarcasm at the criticism of Sen. Robert Torricelli
in NJ!
"The Torch" seems to be the fool of the lot, who actually
got caught taking undocumented thousands while the big guys
pull-in millions and change the nation's laws to suit their donors
"legally" (exhibit A: Phil Gramm)!
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