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Political Contributions. www.opensecrets.org. Where do members of Congress get their election money?. http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/wherefrom.php?cycle=2012 http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/index.php Are there any conclusions we can draw from looking at these charts?.
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Political Contributions www.opensecrets.org
Where do members of Congress get their election money? • http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/wherefrom.php?cycle=2012 • http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/index.php • Are there any conclusions we can draw from looking at these charts?
Political Action Committees (PAC) • Corporations, Unions, and Trade Associations donate money to parties and their campaign funds. • Minimum Requirements • At least 50 contributors (for employees and members only) • Donate to at least 5 different candidates • No more than $5,000 per year to a candidate • No more than $15,000 to the national party.
PAC (continued) • Over 4,000 PACs. Interest groups may also form PACS. • Half of the PACs represent corporations • 1,000 are issue oriented.
Soft Money • Contributions to political parties, instead of particular candidates. The money is used for party building activities like: • Get out the vote campaign. • Voter registration drives. • Expenses involved in day to day running of party headquarters. • Campaign propaganda that relates to the party rather than the candidates. • Fund raising events.
Banning of Soft Money • Article link: (http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,218989,00.html). • What were some problems in banning soft money?
Super PACs • http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0202/Supreme-Court-s-campaign-finance-ruling-just-the-facts • http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php • What are the pro’s and con’s of the Supreme Court decision?
2012 Incumbent Advantage • http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php
How you donate legally? • Try this link: • (http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/guide-to-political-donations).
Historical Congressional Reelection • http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/reelect.php?cycle=2010