Word: soft
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After the United States Supreme Court unexpectedly upheld the most important provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), it almost looked as if the days of unlimited soft money donations were over. Passed in March 2002, the law severely limited what kind of money politicians and activist groups could use to finance political campaigns. It was a monumental leap toward a fair and transparent political process...
...Federal Elections Commission (FEC) rules passed last Wednesday give big donors a fresh loophole to exploit—so-called 527 committees. According to the FEC recommendations, 527s will have to use some hard money—which is heavily regulated—but can also raise and spend soft money, just like political parties, political action committees and other fundraising organizations could before the BCRA. So these 527s—set up in response to the prohibitions of the soft-money ban—can finance the same issue ads the BCRA was meant...
...sake of lasting reform of a frustratingly corrupt system, the FEC should reconsider its ruling. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize how soft money is inimical to America’s democratic process. Massive, unregulated donations give private citizens, unions and corporations undeniable leverage over the politicians and parties they’re funding. After all, politicians can afford to blow off the demands of a $200 donor, but they’re not going to ignore the guy giving them $200,000. The BCRA was supposed to curb the influence of large donors...
...Senator could find himself having to continue raising money the hard way--in the small increments the law allows--along with getting limited help from the Democratic National Committee (D.N.C.), which is under the same legal strictures. Either way Kerry is going to be outspent. In a world where soft money is technically banned, the Republicans have the advantage: they have always had more donors who can contribute the maximum in hard money--$2,000 per person--that the law allows...
...Howard Dean's campaign sputters to what looks like its end, the Kerry campaign and the Democratic Party are devising a way to capture the Internet-driven fund-raising potential that Dean unearthed. After years of concentrating on donors rich enough to dash off five-and six-figure soft-money donations to compete with the legions of Republicans able to write hard-money checks for $2,000, the party of the little guy will have to lure little checks from the Democratic base. "One of the keys to victory for us," says Florida Democratic fund raiser Mitchell Berger, "will...