Thursday, January 14, 2010

Grayson takes on corporate campaign spending | Raw Story

Grayson takes on corporate campaign spending | Raw Story

Responding to a Supreme Court case that could result in most of the US's restrictions on campaign spending being tossed off the books, US House Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) has introduced a series of bills that would severely curtail the ability of corporate donors to influence the outcome of elections.

"We are facing a potential threat to our democracy," Graysontold the Huffington Post's Arthur Delaney. "Unlimited corporate spending on campaigns means the government is up for sale and that the law itself will be bought and sold. It would be political bribery on the largest scale imaginable."

Reflecting his typically flamboyant style, the congressman who drew instant political fame when he mused that the Republican strategy for health care amounts to hoping sick people "die quickly" has given his bills humorous names. Delaney reports:

The Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act would impose a 500 percent excise tax on corporate contributions to political committees and on corporate expenditures on political advocacy campaigns. The Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act would require public companies to report what they spend to influence public opinion on any matter other than the promotion of their goods and services. The End Political Kickbacks Actwould restrict political contributions by government contractors. ...

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