The Latest in Dark Money: Oligarchs Form Their Own Shadow Parties

[KamaAina]

http://billmoyers.com/2014/10/17/latest-dark-money-oligarchs-form-shadow-parties/

With three weeks of spending left to go, 2014 is already the most expensive midterm election cycle in history. The Wesleyan Media Project reported this week that spending on advertising alone is poised to break the $1 billion mark. Some of that money is being raised through traditional channels — by candidates and party committees — but in the Citizens United era, an increasing share is being funneled through outside groups, many of which don’t disclose their donors....

Those opposed to bringing greater transparency to our campaign finance system argue that dark money’s impact is exaggerated because it represents only a fraction of overall spending. But the raw numbers understate the importance of those dollars as their impact is tightly focused on specific pieces of contested terrain. As Paul Blumenthal reported this week for The Huffington Post, “it is increasingly evident that this spending is meant to influence only a handful of races.”

According to a review by The Huffington Post of campaign finance records collected by the Federal Election Commission, the Center for Responsive Politics and press releases and news reports regarding spending by these groups, the Senate races in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky and North Carolina account for nearly half of all dark money spent to target 2014 candidates....

Writing in The New York Times Magazine, Jim Rutenberg offers a big-picture view of how virtually unlimited campaign cash has changed the very nature of our political process. Wealthy donors effectively create their own shadow parties to advance personal agendas. The result of Citizens United was “a massive power shift, from the party bosses to the rich individuals who ran the super PACs.

[KoKo]

1. There's got to be some way to stop this. Congress?

Thanks for Moyer's Link.

Indeed.