Campaign Finance

Maverick Or Maneuverer?

Ron Tang — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:05:00 -0400

Ever since "authenticity" became the quality we most value in our politicians, its converse, "hypocrisy," has been the political vice of which we are most conscious. Thus, those who have noticed that Sen. John McCain enjoys a reputation as a "maverick" who "stands up to special interests" while leading a campaign that is operated and funded entirely by lobbyists have seen this as a contradiction. Is McCain a hypocrite, or perhaps a divided soul, with the angelic maverick voice of reform perched on one shoulder and a diabolical little influence-peddler on the other? Who, journalists ask, is the real John… more

Ballots and Wallets

Ron Tang — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Which detergent do you use? Procter & Gamble spent $3.3 billion on media in 2006 to get customers to buy its products. Which beer will you opt for at the end of a long day's work? Beer marketers spent $1.2 billion during that same year to influence your choice. Who will you pick to be your next president? That's another costly decision: The two major parties are expected to blow a combined $1 billion during this election cycle in their quest to land the $400,000-a-year gig.

Most civic-minded folks who care about politics wince when they hear about the amounts of… more

The Trans-Atlantic Clash over Political Economy and Fulcrum Institutions

Ron Tang — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While the United States and Europe share much in common, they also exhibit basic differences, an "American Way" and a "European Way," that are diverging and had been leading to frequent clashes even before the U.N. rift over Iraq. In a globalized capitalist world, where all nations are seeking models of development that allow "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" for its people, this clash within the West is every bit as elemental as the clash with Arab-Islam because it is multidimensional -- economic, political, social, and international in scope. Few in the world wish to emulate the… more

NPR Interview with Mark Schmitt at Bloggers' Convention

Communications — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 19:00:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Senior Fellow Mark Schmitt talks with National Public Radio about his blogging on TPMCafe.com, while attending the YearlyKos Convention in Chicago:

LYDEN: And you -- looking to have an impact here on the campaign?

Mr. SCHMITT: I'm not looking to have too much of an impact on the campaign. I'm more interested in how different issues are playing out in the campaign. So I, you know, if I'll write about tax policy, I'll comment on how I think some of the different candidates are handling an issue like that or an issue like political reform, CAFE finance reform, which I was on a panel about today, rather than trying to have an impact, you know, in terms of supporting one candidate or the other.

LYDEN: Well, let me ask you. This is billed as the blogging convention that is the highest profile so far for political candidates. Do you feel like you're satisfied with getting access to them, with getting them to come and deal with you as the -- dare I say this -- media of the future?

Mr. SCHMITT: One could hardly be dissatisfied...

For the complete story, visit the NPR web site.

Clintons' Ties to India Could Imperil Your Job

Articles — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 08:31:00 -0400

If a leading American presidential candidate -- and her husband, an ex-president -- seem to have unnaturally close connections to foreign companies interested in draining away American jobs, should that be of interest to Americans?

Some, including campaign rival Barack Obama, say yes, this should be a big story. But the mainstream media seem to say no. Why this media lack of interest?

For the past six years -- since Bill Clinton left the White House, since Hillary Clinton entered the U.S. Senate -- both Clintons have cultivated close ties with Indian companies. Bill has invested as much as $50,000 in an… more

Why Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Hollywood Now Rule

Articles — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:07:00 -0400

Power in America is shifting from George W. Bush’s Sun Belt mafia -- with its roots in post-1950s aerospace, energy and development -- to a new political triad: a handover of control from one oligarchy to another.

This new triad draws its power from three key postindustrial power centers: technology, entertainment and finance. Its geographic orientation is different as well. Rather than having its primary bases in boomtowns like Houston, Dallas, Charlotte or Phoenix, the new elite clusters mostly in the more established, refined reaches of Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Manhattan.

Nowhere is this shift more notable than in the extraordinary attention… more

Mismatching Funds

Articles — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 20:14:00 -0400

Ten years ago, the United States held its first billion-dollar election -- that was roughly the amount spent by all candidates for Congress and the presidency put together. The same year brought the first large-scale campaign finance scandal since Watergate, best remembered for the almost accurate metaphor of President Bill Clinton selling overnights in the Lincoln Bedroom in exchange for large contributions to the Democratic Party. And both took place at a time when Americans were deeply disconnected from politics; the 1996 election was the only presidential election since 1960 in which turnout of the voting-age population fell below 50… more

Pay to Play

Articles — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:48:00 -0400

"The billion-dollar election." Get used to that phrase, because you’ll be hearing it a lot over the next year and a half. That’s the total that all candidates for the presidency are expected to spend on their campaigns between now and 2008. It’s a staggering figure that critics will surely cite as evidence that money has thoroughly corrupted politics. Newt Gingrich shocked the bluenoses back in 1996, when he said that there was too little money in politics, not too much. The price tag this time around will be sure to give them apoplexy. Maybe, though, Gingrich had it right.… more

Chronicle of Higher Education Cites Education Policy Program

Communications — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:58:00 -0500

New America in the News:

On the eve of the Congressional elections, a report has surfaced that reinforces the close ties between members of the student-loan industry and Republican leaders.

Now that polls show that Democrats have a good chance of gaining control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, many lenders fear they will pay for tying their fortunes so closely to the Republican Party.

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, no company has donated more money this year to the National Republican Congressional Committee than the National Education Loan Network, a major for-profit student-loan provider based in Nebraska.

Officials with the company, known as Nelnet, have given, individually and through the company's political-action committee, $153,000 this year to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the fund-raising arm of Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives. The committee's Web site says it is dedicated to "increasing the 231-member Republican majority" in that chamber.

Nelnet's three top executives each gave the panel donations of $26,700, the most individuals are allowed under the law to contribute to a national party committee in a single calendar year...

News of the contributions, first reported on Friday by Higher Ed Watch, a blog of the New America Foundation, raised eyebrows as the company has recently been accused by the U.S. Education Department's Office of Inspector General of overcharging the federal government for subsidy payments on some loans it made to students (The Chronicle, October 2)...

For the complete article, please visit The Chronicle of Higher Education website.

How to Minimize Money’s Role in Politics

Articles — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:45:00 -0400

One of the most discussed political reforms over the last 30 years has been campaign finance reform. That reform effort blames much of what ails our representative democracy on the pernicious effect of private money in politics. In the 1990s, tales of the Keating Five, Lincoln Bedroom, and Buddhist temples became the stuff of political legend. More recently, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was accused of campaign and money laundering violations and lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to influence peddling and bribery of various Congressional members. The 2004 presidential candidates broke new records by spending $1.7 billion, nearly twice the… more