Soft Money: It?s Elimination from Governmental Campaigns :: essays research papers fc

cheeselike Money Its Elimination from Governmental CampaignsThe current use of soft money in the US Governmental elections is phenomenal. The majority of candidates funding comes from soft money donations. Congress has attempted to close these funding loop holes however they have had little success. Soft money violates standards set by congress by utilizing the loop hole found in the Federal Election Commissions laws of Federal Campaigns. This expend of campaign funding should be eliminated from all governmental elections.In 1907 it was considered illegal for any corporation to spend money in connection with a federal election. In 1947 it was illegal for labor unions to spend any money in connection with any federal election. And since 1974, it has been illegal for an individual to contribute more than $1,000 to a federal candidate, or more than $20,000 per year to a policy-making party (Campaign Finance). Congress defined this as a way to prevent the influence of a candidate or federal election. The so-called soft money which is used to fund candidates elections is defined as money which violates the Federal Election Commissions laws on federal elections. In laments terms a simple loophole was created by the FEC in 1978 through a ruling which allowed corporations to donate large amounts of money to candidates for fellowship Building purposes (Campaign Finance). In reality, the $50,000 to one million dollar donations gives the candidate the power to put on the most extravagant campaign money will buy. This loophole remained more or less completely dormant in federal elections until the Dukakis campaign in 1988, then fully emerging in the later Bush campaign, which utilized millions of dollars of soft money(Soft Money). This offensive soft money campaigning involved the solicitation of corporate and union treasury funds, as well as unlimited contributions from individuals, all of which were classified for society Building purposes. The way the money flo ws is basically from the corporation or union to the political party which the donator favors. The spending of soft money is usually controlled by the political parties however it is done in great coordination with the candidate. Aside from unions and corporations special interest groups have been large supporters of soft money. These groups band together for a candidates such as groups for, textiles, tobacco, and liquor. The textile giant Fruit of the Loom, successfully lobbied a campaign which stopped an extension of NAFTA benefits to Caribbean and Central American nations.