Political Campaigns: Finance and Corruption

Controversy has already erupted over the financing of the 2008 presidential campaign with experts projecting costs to exceed $1 billion (Sciffman). Candidate Hillary Clinton raised $8.5 million during only three events, surpassing the old record set in 2004 by John Edwards, who collected $7.4 million in three months (McAuliff). Vast amounts of money is being spent and raised on campaigns, and efforts to curb fundraising and spending have had only limited effects. Serious questions are being asked about money’s effects on candidates, presidents and democracy. According to a nonpartisan, online poll, 49% of people believe the issue of corruption should be a high priority for Congress (Government and Politics). The questionable fundraising methods used to collect enormous sums of money have lead the public to lose confidence and respect of those involved in the political and electoral process. The government is responsible for maintaining the right to political speech and association as mandated by the Constitution, in addition to preventing corruption and preserving public trust in electoral process. The views and beliefs held by proponents and opponents are equally at odds, and will continue to influence the regulation of campaign finance until the system represents the ideals of the democratic process. Within the current system, a dichotomy exists between highly regulated areas such as contribution limits and highly unregulated areas including soft money and issue advocacy. As early as 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt recognized the need for campaign finance reform. Congress responded by banning all corporate contributions with the enactment of the Tillman Act and in 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act similarly banned unions from using their treasuries to contribute to political candidates. Congress later passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which was intended to close the loopholes in earlier reforms. This bill also created the Federal Election

Cited: "About The Sunlight Foundation." 19 April 2007. The Sunlight Foundation. 19 Apr 2007 . Brandeis, Louis. Other People’s Money. New York: F.A. Stokes, 1914. "Federal Campaign Finance Law." Federal Election Commission. U.S. Government. 29 Mar 2007 . "Government and Politics." Polling Reports Online. 30 April 2006. Polling Reports Inc. 19 Apr 2007 . McAuliff, Michael. “Hillary: The $10m woman-Political fundraisers turn to gold for Democrat First Lady." Daily Telegraph. 27 March 2007: 15-. Lexus Nexus. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lib. 20 Mar. 2007 Thompson, Nicolas. "The Internet and Political Campaigns." 16 June 2003. Globalist. 26 March 2007 .