Chicago Sun Times Editorial: Beef up donor disclosure laws

Chicago Sun Times Editorial: Beef up donor disclosure laws
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
October 22, 2010
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2824140,CST-EDT-edit22b.article


Self-government works only when honest debate is not derailed by anonymous special interests.
But the U.S. Supreme Court set the stage for just such pernicious influence with its Citizens vs. United ruling in January, which followed an earlier weakening of disclosure laws by the Federal Election Commission.

Corporations or other special interests -- even foreign ones -- now can secretly funnel money through nonprofit groups to defeat politicians they don't like. And it's already happening throughout government. As Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown pointed out Thursday, the Republican Governors Association doesn't say where it got the $5.4 million it gave to gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady's campaign.

When Virginia Thomas, wife of the Supreme Court justice, put herself in the news this week by calling Anita Hill, it was pointed out that her nonprofit group, Liberty Central, formed to opposed President Obama and congressional Democrats, gets funding from undisclosed donors who in theory could then argue cases in front of her husband.

This fall, Craig Holman of Public Citizen says, outside money -- not raised directly by candidates or political parties -- is up 90 percent over 2008, mostly from unidentified sources. In 2004 and 2006, big donors were 100 percent identified, but that's expected to drop to about 10 percent this year, he said.

"Someone is buying the election, and we don't know who," he said.

When Congress comes back into session after Nov. 2, strengthening disclosure laws should be a priority.