Essay on The Power of Money in Campaign Finance - 2723 Words

It may seem that with the Buckley decision, soft money and PACs the hope for reform has been lost, however there is still hope. The Supreme Court upheld the voluntary public financing of presidential election, which was considered a great step forward because taking public funds requires the candidate to limit their spending on the federal level. There is also the â€Å"hard money† in political campaigns, which is strictly regulated by law through the Federal Election Commission. Hard money is the contrast to soft money meaning that it is the contributions made by a person or PAC that gives to a federal campaign or political party for the use in federal elections. But of course with one step forward there is always two steps back. Because of†¦show more content†¦As a result, all means of legal cheating had been justified. PACs and overly wealthy individuals are not the only ones dipping their hands in the secretly jumbled world of campaign finance. Smaller interest groups and lobbyists are also getting their favors and paychecks. Because election laws are so crammed with exceptions these different groups can directly and openly support a candidate spending as much money as they would like. This loophole is referred to as independent expenditures. The Supreme Court cleared the way for smaller groups to work directly for or against a candidate, so long as the group does not coordinate its efforts with the candidate it supports. Although these expenditures tend to be a just a bit smaller then soft money funds, they are far more straightforward and blunt which proves to be even more effective (Anderson 2000). In my view, campaign finance has gone from something that could potentially help give the power of government back to the people to a complete joke. When trying to answer the questions of campaign finance you get a series of hidden meanings, jumbled definitions and no real answer to you questions, which is exactly the way Washington and campaign workers like it. The more bizarre and convoluted the rules are the more money each campaign can make. It seems that only way to find out any real information is to become a member of the inside, controlling the way campaigns really operate and change. WhenShow MoreRelatedEssay on Campaign Finance Reform1003 Words   |  5 PagesCampaign Finance Reform The politics is a stage for many different characters of whom each is trying to convince their audience to give them the loudest cheer and the grand applause. Politicians who played the acts will do their best and sometimes will do everything to win the hearts of their audience and that means to win at all cost. 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