The swift unraveling of the campaign-finance-reform law that went into effect a day after the last election should come as no surprise to the public, to lawmakers, to the journalists who’ve chronicled its shredding in recent weeks — or even to the reform groups that fought so hard for it. What is hard to fathom […]
Ellen Miller
Ellen Miller is the publisher of TomPaine.com. She is a former senior fellow at The American Prospect and the Moving Ideas Network.
A public interest advocate with over 30 years experience in Washington, D.C., Ms.Miller's career spans early work with Ralph Nader at the Center for ResponsiveLaw and the Center for Auto Safety, to positions on Capitol Hill at the HouseIntelligence Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and thefounding and direction of two nationally prominent organizations in the field ofmoney and politics The Center for Responsive Politics and Public Campaign.Before joining The Prospect, she served as president of Youth Venture, a nonprofit focused on creating a dramatic change in the role of young people in contemporary American society.
A nationally-recognized expert on America's campaign finance system, Ms. Milleris well-known as a public speaker, commentator, and writer on a range of issues. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including EarthAction, the Center for Responsive Politics, and the Family Foundation, and livesin Washington, D.C. with her husband, Richard, and their two daughters, Anne andElizabeth.
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Bite the Ballot
For years conservatives had a corner on ballot initiatives. Think of California’s infamous Proposition 13, and the anti-tax blitzkrieg that swept after it through 43 states. Think of the anti-choice, anti-gay and anti-environment ballot measures of the last two decades. But 2002 seems to mark a turnaround. “This year it’s the liberals’ turn,” says M. […]
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Willful Error:
In his latest Washington Post column, George Will strives to discount the common-sense notion that special-interest money corrupts legislative action. In the process, he finds himself falling back on this classic canard, often repeated by the opponents of campaign-finance reform: “abundant scholarship demonstrates that most legislative behavior — and most campaign giving — is explainable […]
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Speaking Freely:
You’ve got to admit that Senator Mitch McConnell has found a clever way to dress up his support for the campaign finance status quo: He’s been trying to wrap himself in the First Amendment. On the last day of debate on the campaign finance bill that he fought for years, McConnell said that “the government […]
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Refinanced:
As soon as the Senate passed campaign finance reform, the House started to undo it. In a little-noticed measure, just as the Senate was moving toward final passage of the McCain-Feingold bill, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas (R-California) pushed through a provision to exempt certain political-action committees (PACs) from reporting requirements imposed […]
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With Victories Like These….
What a cruel twist of fate: campaign finance reform that benefits Republicans and big money. The Shays-Meehan bill is back-to-the-future reform: legislation that takes us back to just before 1980, when there was no “soft money” but still a huge imbalance in the influence of the big contributors over the rest of the population. Under […]
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Labor’s Loss
As this year’s presidential and congressional elections turn inexorably into high-priced auctions, much attention has been paid to the fact that Democrats have in some respects achieved parity with Republicans in the money chase. According to the Federal Election Commission, as of March 31, Senate Democrats had raised $35.1 million in hard and soft money; […]
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Guns and Money
More than a year after the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Congress remains unwilling to pass even the most incremental legislation controlling access to lethal weapons. There is no better explanation for that than the role of money in politics. Take the current impasse over the waiting period for background checks on […]
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Pay-to-Play Conventions
The Republicans had their time. Then AT&T, Lockheed Martin, and Microsoft packed up the trade show we still call a “political convention” and moved it over to Los Angeles. This year’s conventions will cost an estimated $85 million–$25 million more than they did in 1996–and the long list of corporate sponsors to the convention’s “host […]
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Who Gives?
Considering the almost hour-by-hour polling of the nation’s voters, it’s amazing how little is done to survey the views and backgrounds of the people who really matter in American politics: the elite class of political donors. Thus, an unusual survey conducted this summer is worth hailing. The poll compared a sample of 200 political contributors […]