In its landmark 1976 decision Buckley v.Valeo, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of laws aimed at “the prevention of corruption and the appearance of corruption spawned by the real or imagined coercive influence of large financial contributions on candidates’ positions and on their actions if elected to office.” … […] Read more »
Would The U.S. Be Better Off With A Parliament?
There are many reasons for the gridlock in Washington. Some are recent developments, as the U.S. becomes more politically polarized. Others are structural, built into the American political system. Regardless, the extreme paralysis that has recently become the norm in D.C. almost never happens in Western European democracies. “You’re asking: […] Read more »
6 Things Losing Candidates Say
It’s August of an odd-numbered year, but the 2014 cycle is heating up. That means dozens of candidates are visiting us at The Rothenberg Political Report and Roll Call in anticipation of the midterm elections. Some of them will win, but most will lose. So we’ve started taking notes on […] Read more »
Half in U.S. Support Publicly Financed Federal Campaigns
Half of Americans say they would personally vote for a law that establishes government funding of federal campaigns, while 44% would vote against it. … Americans are much more likely to support limiting the amount of money that U.S. House and Senate candidates can raise and spend for their campaigns. […] Read more »
Dark Money Politics
In the world of nonprofit “dark money” groups, nothing is as it seems: political committees, through the magic of the internal revenue code, become tax-exempt “social welfare” organizations; a partisan campaign ad becomes principled “issue advocacy”; and federal election law that requires public disclosure of donors is rendered toothless by […] Read more »
When businesses give judges money, they usually get the rulings they want
… In fact, according to a new report by Emory law professor and economist Joanna Shepherd, released by the left-leaning American Constitution Society, only three states grant lifetime tenure to judges on their highest court. … When judges are elected, that means they have to raise campaign money — a lot […] Read more »