The Candidates Who Owe It [Almost] All to a Few Massive Donors

The FEC, bipartisan by design, has been deadlocked on further regulating super PACs since a pair of federal court rulings in 2010 permitted their creation. Democratic members have supported more rules and Republicans have opposed them.

Dan Backer, a campaign finance lawyer who runs the consulting firm DB Capitol Strategies, says all that extra money is merely increasing the amount of information available to voters — but that it is ultimately voters in the privacy of the voting booths who are making decisions. He said that if there is no “quid pro quo” corruption, where there is a direct correlation between money and the actions of an elected official, then government has no business restricting political contributions.

“Yes, they’re getting access, and they’re getting gratitude,” he said of the big­ dollar donors. “But if you can’t show me where that corruption is, then you’re just stopping people from doing what they want with their money.”

Read more at The National Journal.