nat4900
Diamond Member
- Mar 3, 2015
- 42,021
- 5,965
Whenever left-leaning posters bring up the Citizen United decision (2010) and label it one of the WORST decision ever rendered because DARK, undisclosed and underreported large amounts of money makes its way into the "buying of governmental favors"(aka...legal bribery) ........
But, guess what? Whenever the issue is debated, right wingers retort with: "Well, unions do it too"
This prompted me to research a bit more what Citizen United did (and did not do) and what amounts of these "special interest" money makes its way into our electoral processes from unions and corporations. I KNOW ITS A LONG READ...BUT WELL WORTH IT TO EDUCATE ALL OF US (either party) AS TO HOW, WHAT AND WHO WE ELECT.
First, a review of Citizen United:
Are unions and corporations subject to the same transparency requirements for their political spending?
No. Both unions and corporations have to report to the Federal Election Commission any political expenditures made to finance independent expenditures and electioneering communications. However, this covers only some of the direct political spending. Otherwise, the regulations governing corporate and union political spending are very different, and allow much more secrecy for corporations than for unions.
Do Corporations Unions Face the Same Rules for Political Spending Demos
Second, the amount of money (and from whom) that sloshes its way into the coffers of candidates who....supposedly......are our representatives within our cherished democracy
Republic Report broke down the figures for the last election and found that Koch groups alone spent more than double the combined political spending (including to undisclosed group) for the top ten unions combined. The chart includes union spending on dark money Democratic groups and Koch spending on dark money groups like Americans for Prosperity.
This undisclosed campaign system is nothing new for the Koch brothers. In 1995 and 1996, Koch set up a shell company called Triad Management to spend millions in secret money to help the Republican Party. Of course, this type of spending never shows up in databases.
All NRLB-regulated unions, on the other hand, disclose every outside payment. Payments that cannot be found through the FEC can be found on a database maintained by the Labor Department. Individuals and corporations are under no such similar disclosure rules. The Koch money identified recently by the Washington Post, the $407 million, relates only to they money filtered through foundations and nonprofits. The money Koch spends as a corporate entity, which it has in the past, may have gone unreported - See more at: CHART Koch Spends More Than Double Top Ten Unions Combined
But, guess what? Whenever the issue is debated, right wingers retort with: "Well, unions do it too"
This prompted me to research a bit more what Citizen United did (and did not do) and what amounts of these "special interest" money makes its way into our electoral processes from unions and corporations. I KNOW ITS A LONG READ...BUT WELL WORTH IT TO EDUCATE ALL OF US (either party) AS TO HOW, WHAT AND WHO WE ELECT.
First, a review of Citizen United:
Are unions and corporations subject to the same transparency requirements for their political spending?
No. Both unions and corporations have to report to the Federal Election Commission any political expenditures made to finance independent expenditures and electioneering communications. However, this covers only some of the direct political spending. Otherwise, the regulations governing corporate and union political spending are very different, and allow much more secrecy for corporations than for unions.
Do Corporations Unions Face the Same Rules for Political Spending Demos
Second, the amount of money (and from whom) that sloshes its way into the coffers of candidates who....supposedly......are our representatives within our cherished democracy
Republic Report broke down the figures for the last election and found that Koch groups alone spent more than double the combined political spending (including to undisclosed group) for the top ten unions combined. The chart includes union spending on dark money Democratic groups and Koch spending on dark money groups like Americans for Prosperity.
This undisclosed campaign system is nothing new for the Koch brothers. In 1995 and 1996, Koch set up a shell company called Triad Management to spend millions in secret money to help the Republican Party. Of course, this type of spending never shows up in databases.
All NRLB-regulated unions, on the other hand, disclose every outside payment. Payments that cannot be found through the FEC can be found on a database maintained by the Labor Department. Individuals and corporations are under no such similar disclosure rules. The Koch money identified recently by the Washington Post, the $407 million, relates only to they money filtered through foundations and nonprofits. The money Koch spends as a corporate entity, which it has in the past, may have gone unreported - See more at: CHART Koch Spends More Than Double Top Ten Unions Combined
