[Winona] 527 Groups

[Roy Nasstrom]

If Minnesota has done anything about the activities of 527 groups, the 
effort is invisible. The overall impact of 527 groups may be to give greater 
authority to interest groups than to the parties as a whole, particularly 
with respect to voters who are nonaffiliated or weakly affiliated with 
parties. The most recent reports to the Internal Revenue Service, as 
reported by the Campaign Finance Institute of George Washington University 
(www.campaignfinanceinstitute.org, 202-969-8890), indicate that liberal and 
Democratic bodies have raised far more money than have conservative and 
Republican counterparts during the past year. (In overall fund-raising for 
2006, Republicans still lead Democrats, but the gap seems to be closing 
fairly rapidly.)



The West Virginia legislation is encouraging. If more states required 
disclosure, people would be better able to interpret information they 
receive. For that matter, if media were willing and able to report on the 
political orientation of 527 groups' messages, campaigns might be more 
enlightening in general.



Whether any reform legislation or media reporting will reduce the influence 
of money in politics remains unknown. If money loses its effectiveness in 
one stream, it will find another. In the 1960s, Jesse Unruh, the onetime 
all-powerful speaker of the California lower house, remarked, "Money is the 
mother's milk of politics." It is hard to deny the validity of his comment, 
and it may not be wise to expect the millennium on the basis of reforms, 
however well-intentioned.



Interesting reports on current consequences, many unanticipated, of the 
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act may be found in The Election After Reform: 
Money, Politics, and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, published this year 
by Rowman and Littlefield.



Roy Nasstrom





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Brooks" <hswcb at yahoo.com>

>
> Does anyone know if Minnesota has any controls over these fund raising
> groups?
>
> for article and video -
> http://www.governing.com/articles/5527.htm
> ************************************************
> Title of article-
>
> Chasing the Shadow
>
> '527' groups are a mysterious but increasingly powerful force in American
> elections. One state has cracked down on them; others are trying.
>
> ***
> Craig Brooks
>
>
>
>
>
>
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