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<p>Sen. John McCain threatened yesterday to sue the Federal Election Commission if it fails to enforce federal election laws against groups that use "soft money" to influence presidential and congressional races.</p> <p>"Senator [Russell D.] Feingold is right, use of soft money contributions by '527 groups' whose major purpose is to affect federal elections is not legal," the Arizona Republican said in a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing yesterday.</p>

<p>Sen. John McCain threatened yesterday to sue the Federal Election Commission if it fails to enforce federal election laws against groups that use "soft money" to influence presidential and congressional races.</p> <p>"Senator [Russell D.] Feingold is right, use of soft money contributions by '527 groups' whose major purpose is to affect federal elections is not legal," the Arizona Republican said in a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing yesterday.</p>

Led by veterans of presidential and congressional campaigns, a coalition of Democratic Party interest groups, armed with millions of dollars in soft money, is rapidly constructing an unprecedented political operation designed to supplement the activities of Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign in the effort to defeat President Bush.

<p>Federal election officials proposed new rules Thursday that could sharply curb the activities of private political groups intent on influencing this year's presidential election.</p> <p>Although the action by the Federal Election Commission is not final, it drew objections from non-profit groups allied with Democrats who fear that continuing legal uncertainty will dampen their fundraising.</p>

The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Office of General Counsel yesterday proposed a tough set of rules to regulate independent groups that plan to spend tens of millions of dollars in soft money in this election year. Yesterday’s proposal kicks off a two-month rulemaking process that Republicans and members of the campaign finance reform community hope will culminate in rules that significantly restrict the activities of these mainly liberal-leaning groups. Many Democrats, on the other hand, fiercely oppose adopting new regulations for independent groups such as so-called 527 groups, named after a section of the U.S. tax code that governs their...

WASHINGTON - Interest groups raising big donations to spend in this year's elections could face tough new limits under a proposal federal officials will begin considering this week. The Federal Election Commission is weighing how a new campaign finance law affects nonparty groups that raise corporate, union and unlimited "soft money" donations and are active at election time. Several commissioners call it the most important decision they will make this year. The FEC is considering a wide range of options, from placing broad limits on soft money groups to sticking to the status quo and waiting to see what the...

Washington- As footage of Osama bin Laden played across the screen, an announcer warned about the dire consequences of electing Howard Dean, a presidential candidate with no military or foreign policy experience. The message of the 30-second ad was abundantly clear. The messenger wasn't. The spot, which ran in some early Democratic primary states, included a tag that said it was paid for by "Americans for Jobs, Health Care and Progressive Values," but it gave no hint about who financed the group or what its agenda is beyond attacking the then-Democratic front-runner.The 2002 campaign finance law may have shut off...

Check is part of criminal investigation into whether corporate money was illegally used in the 2002 state legislative elections By Laylan Copelin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, February 25, 2004 When Jim Ellis, a key aide to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was preparing to deliver money to an arm of the Republican National Committee, a DeLay ally in Texas had a blank check sent to Ellis with the amount to be filled in later. John Colyandro, executive director of DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority, said in a deposition that he had the blank check sent because Ellis had a...

<p>The Federal Election Commission yesterday voted 4-2 to place restrictions on political advocacy groups with no expressed party affiliation that use "soft money" to influence elections.</p> <p>At the same time, the six-member commission delayed a decision on a campaign-finance law that prohibits money from big businesses and unions from going to tax-exempt groups that are connected to political parties.</p>

Watching the Lehrer report on PBS right now. The discussion was about Kerry and his taking of soft money, PAC money, special interest money. The guest, David Brooks, of the NYTimes said that Kerry has taken plenty of special interest money, no more no less than the typical politician. What caught my ear was that he said Kerry was also a receiver of some money from Johnny Chung. Isn't Chung the bag man with brown paper bags of money brought to Klintoon?? Let's see what we can dig up, eh folks? G

The Federal Election Commission decided yesterday that many of the political committees raising "soft" money to campaign against President Bush are subject to regulation, but it postponed deciding how tough the restrictions should be. The FEC voted 4 to 2 to warn Americans for a Better Country that activities that "promote, attack, support or oppose" a federal candidate must be paid for with hard money, a type of political donation that, unlike soft money, has tight restrictions on sources and amounts. This is a broader standard than used in the past. Activities that benefit a mix of federal, state and...

<p>The Federal Election Commission yesterday voted 4-2 to place restrictions on political advocacy groups with no expressed party affiliation that use "soft money" to influence elections.</p> <p>At the same time, the six-member commission delayed a decision on a campaign-finance law that prohibits money from big businesses and unions from going to tax-exempt groups that are connected to political parties.</p>

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Trent Lott (R-Miss.) plans to hold hearings on the emergence of 527 soft-money fundraising groups, significantly expanding the GOP assault on what has become known as the Democratic “shadow party.” Lott’s plans will enhance the position of Republican leaders and their unlikely allies in the campaign finance reform community who want strict curbs on these groups, which plan to spend over $300 million this year to influence federal races. Republicans and campaign finance reformers traditionally have locked horns over efforts to regulate the campaign finance system. Hopes of restraining the groups flagged this week when Bradley...

Can someone please explain (preferably with sources) the distinction of PAC vs any other lobbyist? Over the past weeks I've had a slew of arguments with Dems who tout Kerry's "No PAC Money" stance as indicative of the second coming and try as I might I can't figure out what the difference is --in this realm--between the Sierra Club and... well any other group really...

FEC Chairman Backs Organizations' Use of 'Soft Money' McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law Doesn't Apply to Political Interest Groups, Smith Says Defying Republican Party demands to rule illegal the plans of a network of pro-Democratic political committees, Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley A. Smith now argues that these committees should remain free to raise and spend large contributions known as "soft money." Smith's argument, spelled out in a 37-page proposal to his five FEC colleagues, sharply increases, but does not guarantee, the likelihood that new pro-Democratic groups with multimillion-dollar budgets will become significant forces in the 2004 election and become what...

<p>BERKELEY, Calif. -- The biggest powerhouse in progressive politics had decidedly inauspicious beginnings: an overheard conversation at a local Chinese restaurant, a high-tech chain letter, and $89.</p> <p>Five years ago, tech entrepreneurs Joan Blades and her husband, Wes Boyd -- whose company gave the world the flying-toaster screen saver -- were eating lunch and listening to a group at a nearby table lamenting the time and energy wasted on the President Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Blades and Boyd decided to start a petition urging Congress to forgo impeachment, censure Clinton instead, and move on. They e-mailed it to their friends, asked them to pass it on, and paid $89 to set up a website where people could register their support.</p>

The network of soft-money fundraising groups known as the “shadow” Democratic Party has fallen significantly short of its fundraising goals even as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), faces heavy Republican attacks in coming months. Eight of the largest and most prominent liberal soft-money funds — known as 527s after a section of the federal tax code — have raised less than 10 percent of their expected outlays for the 2004 election. “My view is that most soft-money donors are not going to move money to outside groups to keep it flowing into federal campaigns because the incentives...

FEC Asked to Withhold Sharpton's Matching Funds 2/5/04 8:21:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Ken Boehm of the National Legal and Policy Center, 703-237-1970, http://www.nlpc.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) announced that it will file an amendment today to its Feb. 2 complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging additional violations of federal campaign law by Rev. Al Sharpton and others. The amendment will update the Feb. 2 complaint to reflect information contained in a February 3 Village Voice article by Wayne Barrett titled "Sleeping With the GOP: A...

Major liberal donors are demonstrating their willingness to fund a new shadow Democratic Party, according to reports filed Friday by a network of nominally independent organizations committed to defeating President Bush in November. At the same time, momentum to bar their activities gained new strength. On Thursday, the legal staff of the Federal Election Commission proposed regulations that could choke off the groups' plans, with backing from an alliance of Republican Party leaders and campaign-watchdog groups. The reports filed Friday with the Internal Revenue Service and the FEC showed millions of dollars flowing from unions, wealthy individuals, environmental groups and...

For the most part, Hollywood is bone-deep liberal. And the Sundance Film Festival -- all indie motivations aside -- is, essentially, a mountaintop suburb of Hollywood. What better ground for Democrats to work for campaign money and recruits than Sundance? And no more opportune time to stir hearts than a presidential election year when the incumbent is President Bush. With that thinking in mind, the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean supporters and organizers of MoveOn.org have scheduled screenings and fund-raisers in Park City next week. To top it off, former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, are expected...