Balkinization: A Loophole in Contribution Law?

A Loophole in Contribution Law?

Ian Ayres

The New York Times reports today:

Mrs. Clinton has raised nearly $50 million and spent about $35 million; both the
infrastructure she has built and whatever money is left at the end can be
transferred into a presidential race if she decides to run.

This raises an interesting possibility. Imagine that a presidential candidate wants to allow people to contribute more to her campaign than is currently allowed under Federal campaign law. She could sign up to run in the off year election for the House and the Senate (and maybe have her relatives run for House and Senate in the same state). Supporters of the presidential campaign make maximum contributions to the House and Senate campaigns. To be extreme, imagine that these are sham candidacies and that she and her relatives spend almost none of the money contributed so as to maximize the amount that can be transfered post defeat to the real presidential campaign. The supporters who maxed out in making contributions to the sham campaigns can also max out in giving to the presidential campaign. And voila you have neat/scary way to end run the contribution limits.

Should we require candidates to give back excess funds to their donors? Or should we at least require some kind of attribution rule so that contributors can't effectively double dip? As it stands 30 cents of every dollar give to the Clinton Senate race is likely to support the Clinton presidential race.

Posted 11:10 AM by Ian Ayres [link]

Comments:

Money, politics and regulations.

Or should it be:

Politics, money and regulations.

If, freedom of speech equals freedom of money, there will be very little that can be done to limit freedom of speech.

I would hope that there is some way, (beyond vote the bums out), to restrict how money buys politcs.

Business planes, business golf trips, business blah blah blah.

It seems that business has nothing better to do with it's money than to lobby Congress for it's benefit.

Somebody, please, anybody, lobby me, for your benefit, not mine.

We, as a country, are growing a corporate structure; in money, knowledge and power; that will eventually make the US Govt beholden to and effectually in control of the govt.
(conspiracy theories inc)not

# posted by

Fran : 6:47 PM

Why not say that all monies left over from (House + Senate) campaigns for 2006 will be transferred to a clean election pool and distributed equally amongst all national candidates (House, Senate, President) that meet a certain watermark, either in petition signatures or money raised independently (like number of individual contributors)?

Whoa there, that was trippy. Yeah, nothing'll change.

# posted by

Adrian : 12:40 AM

Yes, indeed, why not take donations from members of Moveon, and pass them on to David Duke? Why not take donations from members of the Minute Men, and pass them on to a candidate endorsed by Mecha? It's not like there'd be something offensive about forcing people to finance candidates they loath...

Money doesn't buy politics, that gets the power relationship backwards: Politics buys money. Campaign donations are quite often extortion, not bribery.

You want people to spend less on politicians? Make them worth less: Reduce the power of government. It would attack the problem from both ends, reducing the power of extortionists to extort, and reducing the desire of people bribe politicans who could no longer deliver anything worth the bribe.

Thinking you can take the money out of politics, while leaving the power in? It's a fantasy.

# posted by

Brett : 5:36 PM

"Should we require candidates to give back excess funds to their donors?"

There was a Kentucky law that required candidates to return unused campaign contributions to their donors or give them to a public financing fund. The Sixth Circuit held that the law violated the Takings Clause.

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