[EL] “End Citizens United: Reform Group or Cash Cow?”

[Sean Parnell]

As has been pointed out to me, at the end of the first paragraph I meant to write “Nor is it that the candidates being supported by the PAC are voting against for, say, higher contribution limits or against the DISCLOSE Act.” 

 

Sean

 

 

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Sean Parnell
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2016 10:26 AM
To: 'Rick Hasen' <rhasen at law.uci.edu>; law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] “End Citizens United: Reform Group or Cash Cow?”

 

The full article is fairly illuminative of a point I’ve made in the past. The biggest complaint of the author isn’t that this is some sort of “scam” PAC where 95% of the money raised winds up in the bank accounts of the consultants and vendors (and do so over the long haul – there are startup costs to getting a new organization going and building a fundraising base, after all), although that possibility is raised. Nor is it that the candidates being supported by the PAC are voting against, say, higher contribution limits or the DISCLOSE Act. 

 

No, the biggest problem, at least judging by the amount of space devoted to it in the piece, is that the PAC is supporting candidates that are somewhat more conservative than progressives would prefer, and have “backed Republican efforts to weaken financial reform” and “supported the so-called chained Consumer Price Index scheme backed by many Republicans that would have depressed Social Security benefits” and “denounced congressional progressives who oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.”

 

Apparently, if “reform” advocacy means anything other than electing progressive/liberal/leftist candidates to office or supporting anything other than progressive/liberal/leftist causes, it isn’t really “reform.” There’s probably a lesson somewhere in there.

 

 

Sean Parnell

President, Impact Policy Management LLC

Alexandria, Virginia

571-289-1374

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com <mailto:sean at impactpolicymanagement.com> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in  <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46> ballot access


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80115> “End Citizens United: Reform Group or Cash Cow?”


Posted on  <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80115> February 19, 2016 6:28 am by  <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> Rick Hasen

 <http://prospect.org/article/end-citizens-united-reform-group-or-cash-cow> TAP:

In March of last year, a new organization with the arguably misleading name of End Citizens United began bombarding progressive donors with high-pressure fundraising emails tailor made to exploit grassroots passions over the toxic influence of corporate and billionaire money on elections.

“Will you donate $3 or more to support our work toward reforming our campaign finance system and ultimately overturning Citizens United?” read one of the dozens of fundraising emails that has hit my inbox. End Citizens United is “dedicated to countering the disastrous effects of Citizens United and reforming our campaign finance system,” declares the group’s website.

But despite such lofty rhetoric, the group has done virtually nothing to actually promote a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that deregulated political spending. Instead, the group is strictly a political action committee that has raised $6.8 million thanks to heavy spending on list rentals and fundraising overhead.

 <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D80115&title=%26%238220%3BEnd%20Citizens%20United%3A%20Reform%20Group%20or%20Cash%20Cow%3F%26%238221%3B&description=> 

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