OpenSecrets.org Reveals U.S. Money/politics Nexus

O'Leary, Mick, Information Today

The Citizens United election campaign is in full swing. Spending patterns for the congressional and presidential campaigns are far different from those of 2010 and 2008. This time, old-style spending from direct candidate contributions is flat or down, while newfangled "independent expenditures"--that are not given to candidates or spent by their campaign organizations--are soaring. So far in the 2012 election cycle, more than $250 million in independent expenditures have been made, which is almost three times as much as at the same point in 2008--and this is written before the post-convention spending spree.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Why is there this big shift? Blame (or credit) Citizens United (CU), the Supreme Court decision formally titled Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Issued on Jan. 21, 2010, the decision allowed independent organizations to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaign advertising, as long as their efforts are neither part of nor coordinated with a candidate's formal campaign organization.

The CU decision was enormously controversial from the start. At his State of the Union address a week after the decision was announced, …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: OpenSecrets.org Reveals U.S. Money/politics Nexus. Contributors: O'Leary, Mick - Author. Magazine title: Information Today. Volume: 29. Issue: 9 Publication date: October 2012. Page number: 20+. © 2009 Information Today, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2012 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.