¶ … corporations' spending to influence political campaigns. Specifically, it will discuss why corporations should be prohibited from spending to influence political campaigns. It is well-known that those who have the most money to wield usually hold most of the power, and this is extremely true of most large corporations in America today. These corporations might pick and choose where they exert their power, but most all of them contribute the maximum amount allowable by law to political campaigns. With the Presidential election looming in November, these contributions have picked up at a breakneck pace. These contributions, known as "soft money" in the political world, should be prohibited, because they go against the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, and they influence the candidates in ways that often do not benefit their constituents. Political contributions from large corporations are not the American way, and they should be banned entirely, to add integrity back into the election process.
Corporations' Spending for Political Campaigns
Political parties are not a new invention in American politics, and neither are donations from those who hope to influence their candidates in specific ways. Today, political interest groups, who work for specific corporations or industries, are much more common than they once were, but they have always existed, as these experts note:
Political parties were invented in the United States in the late 1790s and have dominated American politics ever since. In the early decades of the republic, interest groups were subordinated to the much more powerful parties. But as the range of government activities gradually expanded, powerful interest groups paid more attention to politics (Hrebenar, Burbank, and Benedict 1).
There are numerous reasons why these continuing political contributions should be stopped. First, they are completely out of control, and are defining the way candidates run for office in our country. Political campaigns of past eras were shorter, and much less expensive. Today, campaigns seem to last forever, and the budgets are tremendous. For example, the 1998 governor's race in California cost $100 million, and Senate races can cost $25 million or more, and the costs are rising every day (Hrebenar, Burbank, and Benedict 6). Arnold Schwarzenegger spent nearly $27 million to win the recall election in California just a few months ago, and the total spent by all the candidates was $88 million. Even more astounding, Ex-Governor Gray Davis left office owing his campaign money. While he raised "more money - 131 million dollars - than any previous California governor, Davis left office with a campaign debt of 268,000 dollars, according to the Los Angeles Times" ("Recall"). These figures are astounding, but they also show why political campaign contributions from large corporations must be prohibited. Political spending is out of control, and to bring it back into line, campaigns should be shortened, and costs should be reduced.
In addition, political contributions create undue pressure on political candidates. Corporations are not contributing large amounts simply out of the goodness of their hearts. They are spending money to make money - by influencing their candidates when specific legislation is introduced in Congress, or by state politicians. Their contributions cover future laws, and this is quite evident in the current debate over the President's new Medicare Bill, which he touts as a salvation for Medicare recipients, and proponents say is nothing more than pandering to the big pharmaceutical companies who contributed to Bush's 2000 Presidential Campaign. This is an excellent example of why political campaigns should not receive contributions from major corporations or industries. Later, whether their contributions have influenced the politician or not, they will be seen as influencing the political process by many, and this not only demeans the process, it puts the
Campaign Finance Spending You decide Campaign finance spending reform For many years, campaign finance reform was an important 'talking point' amongst populist Democratic and Republican senators alike, cumulating in the McCain-Feingold Act. The Act placed spending limits upon 'soft money' (money not directly given to a candidate or party) as well as banned corporations from financing advertisements designed to influence voting about particular issues before an election (Gitell 2003). The Act was intended
voters in the United States feel campaign finance reform is a necessity. They see candidates for elected offices being curried by special interest groups. Voters fear, with some justification, that money may corrupt a candidate who is elected using special interest money to finance the campaign, and not keep the voters' needs foremost. Politicians have acknowledged that they have until recently spent an inordinate amount of time phoning businesses,
American Anti-Corruption Act: The Tipping Point for American Citizens The American Anti-Corruption Act: A tipping point for American citizens In the wake of increasing concerns about the undue influence of money and special interest groups in American politics, the anti-corruption advocacy group Represent.Us created a grassroots campaign in support of a law called the American Anti-Corruption Act. The Act is "a nine-point plan to crack down on lobbyists, strengthen the flimsy law intended
That's why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less. Eight justices did concur that Congress has the responsibility to require corporations to disclose their spending and to run disclaimers with their advertisements, for "disclosure permits citizens and shareholders to
Regarding the rights of seniors, the Affordable Care Act closed the so-called 'doughnut hole' that did not cover a specific middle range of Medicare drug coverage and the Democrats have strongly resisted attempts to privatize Social Security (What we stand for: Social Security, 2011, Democrats). As is obvious from my analysis perhaps, I side with the Democratic Party. The Republicans have failed to provide any meaningful strategies for healthcare reform,
Special Interests Washington lobbyists, influence, and money are concatenate forces in the current political dynamic. The 2008 election cycle saw Barack Obama spend in excess of 730 million on his run for the Presidency. John McCain was seemingly dwarfed, spending only 333 million" (OpenSecrets.org. N.D. 1). The spending however was only a portion of the 5.2 billion spent nationally in the 2008 election cycles (OpenSecrets.org. N.D. 1). Further, the situation seems
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