Federal Campaign Contributions
Over the last several years, this issue of campaign finance has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because the influences of the affluent and special interests in the field of politics have become more perverse. However, the issue of the involvement of special interests in elections has been a major challenge (with the founding fathers warning about how this is a threat to democracy). ("The Presidential Election")
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that limits placed on campaign contributions (i.e. soft money) are unconstitutional. This has opened the flood gates for many different groups to establish political action committees (PACs) that will provide unlimited donations to candidates. This is going directly against the very laws which are designed to limit the influence of the special interests. As, there is a patchwork of regulations that are not supported by: consistent rulings from the courts. Instead, a select amount of laws are applicable. While other regulations (i.e. McCain Feingold) have been struck down (which is giving these groups unprecedented access to political candidates).
In the Presidential campaign, this lack of regulation means that PACs are forming...
The way that this occurs, is through the use of soft money to: allow large organizations to establish a PAC and contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the campaign. To fully understand what is taking place requires looking at: the mechanisms involved during the process, specific issues when these laws are applicable, how this impacting the election, the way this will affect the balance of
power and how this relates to
business law. Together, these different elements will offer the greatest insights as to the strengths and drawbacks of the current system. ("The Presidential Election")
A brief scope of the, intent, mechanics, and effects of the law for Federal Contributions to Campaigns for the President and VP
The basic intent of campaign finance laws is to limit the influence of the special interests in the process. The mechanism that is used to enforce these regulations is the Federal Election Commission. They have the power to monitor and enforce federal laws when it comes to the areas of campaign finance. In general, this has worked for limiting certain kinds of personal contributions from wealthy individuals. However, as time went by, many of these individuals have formed different PACs (which are designed to go around the various campaign finance laws). The impact is that, this provided a basic foundation for regulating contributions. The problem is that many of these guidelines need to be updated (to address the loop holes that special interests are taking advantage of). ("A Century of Campaign Finance Laws")
Cite a relevant issue or incident that the law is applied, when it is violated, and abused…
