[EL] NYT/Secret GOP Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for Access to Governors

Thu Sep 25 14:35:14 PDT 2014

The kind of access Craig seems concerned about appears available through Public Citizen too, but seems like a better deal.  And unlike the RGA, it’s tax deductible.

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From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Craig Holman
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2014 1:04 PM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: [EL] NYT/Secret GOP Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for Access to Governors

Colleagues:

Upon reading the RGA documents – which break their corporate donors down into special classes of contributors based on donation amount (Statesmen, $250,000+; Cabinet, $100,000+;  Board, $50,000+; Council, $25,000+), and then detail the rising scale of access to public officials each class of donors receives – brings to mind the McConnell v. FEC decision, in which a more reasoned Supreme Court upheld BCRA’s ban on corporate soft money contributions precisely to prevent such buying of access.

From the McConnell decision:

Many of the "deeply disturbing examples" of corruption cited by this Court in Buckley, 424 U. S., at 27, to justify FECA's contribution limits were not episodes of vote buying, but evidence that various corporate interests had given substantial donations to gain access to high-level government officials. See Buckley, 519 F. 2d, at 821, 839-840, n. 36; nn. 5-6, supra. Even if that access did not secure actual influence, it certainly gave the "appearance of such influence." Colorado II, supra, at 441; see also 519 F. 2d, at 838.
The record in the present case is replete with similar examples of national party committees peddling access to federal candidates and officeholders in exchange for large soft-money donations. See 251 F. Supp. 2d, at 492-506 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.). As   one former Senator put it:
" 'Special interests who give large amounts of soft money to political parties do in fact achieve their objectives. They do get special access. Sitting Senators and House Members have limited amounts of time, but they make time available in their schedules to meet with representatives of business and unions and wealthy individuals who gave large sums to their par- ties. These are not idle chit-chats about the philosophy of democracy. . . . Senators are pressed by their benefactors to introduce legislation, to amend legislation, to block legislation, and to vote on legislation in a certain way.'" Id., at 496 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.) (quoting declaration of former Sen. Warren Rudman if7 (hereinafter Rudman Decl.), App. 742); 251 F. Supp. 2d, at 858 (Leon, J.) (same).
So pervasive is this practice that the six national party committees actually furnish their own menus of opportunities for access to would-be soft-money donors, with increased prices reflecting an increased level of access. For example, the DCCC offers a range of donor options, starting with the $10,000-per-year Business Forum program, and going up to the $100,000-per-year National Finance Board program. The latter entitles the donor to bimonthly conference calls with the Democratic House leadership and chair of the DCCC, complimentary invitations to all DCCC fundraising events, two private dinners with the Democratic House leadership and ranking members, and two retreats with the Democratic House leader and DCCC chair in Telluride, Colorado, and Hyannisport, Massachusetts. Id., at 504-505 (Kollar-Kotelly, J.); see also id., at 506 (describing records indicating that DNC offered meetings with President in return for large donations); id., at 502-503 (describing RNC's various donor programs); id., at 503-504 (same for NRSC); id., at 500- 503 (same for DSCC); id., at 504 (same for NRCC). Similarly, "the RNC's donor programs offer greater access to federal office holders as the donations grow larger, with the highest level and most personal access offered to the largest soft money donors." Id., at 500-503 (finding, further, that the RNC holds out the prospect of access to officeholders to attract soft-money donations and encourages officeholders to meet with large soft-money donors); accordingly,  id., at 860-861 (Leon, J.).

Craig Holman, Ph.D.
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Holman at aol.com<mailto:Holman at aol.com>
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