WASHINGTON -- Dark money flowed freely in 2013 and into the new year as social welfare nonprofits and corporate trade associations -- groups that are not required to disclose their donors -- spent well over $27 million on electoral campaigns and issue advocacy targeting specific candidates.A Huffington Post analysis of press releases, news reports and Federal Communications Commission data collected by the Sunlight Foundation found that dark money groups have dropped at least $24.6 million on issue ads naming specific candidates on television, radio and online video since January 2013.That's seven times the $3.5 million these groups spent on campaign activities reported to the Federal Election Commission over the same period.
i think if they drop the ridiculous not having to real your donor clause, it is truly designed to allow those who donate extravagant amounts to literally buy the government and remain anonymous,
if we are going to be sold on an auction block we at least should know what entity is buying influence, hell Ahmadinejad of Iran could be investing in our gov't by buying a politician or two. as it is we really don't know who pulls the strings we know they are radical and selfish minded and want it all for themselves.
The issue advocacy totals reveal that dark money groups are already priming the electorate ahead of the 2014 midterm elections. HuffPost's review also shows that conservative and corporate interests continued to dominate overall dark money spending in 2013, even as liberal dark money groups equaled the amount spent by conservatives on campaign activity alone.Conservative groups have already spent at least $15.8 million on issue ads to promote Republican candidates and attack Democrats ahead of the November midterms. Americans for Prosperity, the nonprofit founded and funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, led all groups with at least $12.4 million spent on candidate-specific ads opposing the implementation of Obamacare.Liberal dark money groups, meanwhile, spent at least $3.3 million on issue advocacy with nearly all of that spending coming from the League of Conservation Voters.
are they just throwing us a bone with elections first they flood the field with millions to get their way they lose and immediately start all over again. last year Rove spent 300,000,000 and still lost that's just him the others he haven't seen those figures because they can stay behind the curtain. point is we can no longer lay claim to the gov't and the country, it belongs partly to strangers and partly to.................................?
bottom line is elections don't mean squat when the republicans lose, they spend time stacking positions they can call on when no longer in charge to help with they're obstruction like big business sitting on billions that would move the economy, but the power of the people is starting to be realized two wins against them and their donors and multiple little skirmishes that Pres. won, we can do it together key word together.
