the record is built. people can follow the money. at least super pacs are required to disclose the names of the donors so we know where that money is coming from. sheila is executive director of the center for responsive politics, a nonpartisan research organization that tracks political spending through its website opensecrets.org. according to her, the money unleashed by citizens united has also flowed freely into nonprofit social welfare groups that are not required to make their donors public. we think of a group like planned parenthood or the national rifle association, which has a social welfare purpose. they are not organized primarily to influence politics, but they re allowed some political activity. there has been a huge spike in politically active social
corporations had the same rights as individuals. the court also ruled that political spending was a form of free speech. were you surprised by the decision on citizens united? i was shocked. i hadn t heard anybody really say that that was a legitimate thing to do. and, yet, the court went ahead and did it. the flood of political money unleashed by citizens united led to the rise of what we now know as super pacs. a super pac can accept unlimited money from basically anyone, including corporations, labor unions and billionaire mega donors with two important restrictions. donors names are disclosed and super pacs are not allowed to work directly with a candidate or campaign. do you think there s evidence that contributions to a super pac are correcting? i don t think there is any question. it s all a wink and a nod. these are former staff members who know exactly what to do. so the idea that somehow this is separate, that it s independent is an absurdity. this is why disclosure
they produced a documentary called hillary the movie which slammed hillary clinton and planned to air it on cable tv just before the 2008 primary season got started. but a district court ruled that the film basically amounted to a feature length attack ad against clinton and airing it so close to the primaries would violate mccain/feingold. they appealed to the supreme court and a decision few saw coming, the court agreed with citizens united ruling 5-4 that corporations had the same rights as individuals. the court also ruled that political spending was a form of free speech. were you surprised by the decision on citizens united? i was shocked. i hadn t heard anybody really say that that was a legitimate thing to do. and, yet, the court went ahead and did it. the flood of political money unleashed by citizens united led
corporations had the same rights as individuals. the court also ruled that political spending was a form of free speech. were you surprised by the decision on citizens united? i was shocked. i hadn t heard anybody really say that that was a legitimate thing to do. and, yet, the court went ahead and did it. the flood of political money unleashed by citizens united led to the rise of what we now know as super pacs. they can accept unlimited money from basically anyone, including corporations, labor unions and billionaire megadonors. donors names are disclosed and super pacs are not allowed to work directly with a candidate or campaign. i don t think there is any question. it s all a wink and a nod. these are former staff members who know exactly what to do. so the idea that somehow this is