Election News and Features
Jeff Chiu/AP
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, shakes hands with
Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, before
speaking at the National Rifle Association of America annual meeting Friday, May 16,
2008, in Louisville, Ky. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, shakes hands with
Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, before
speaking at the National Rifle Association of America annual meeting Friday, May 16,
2008, in Louisville, Ky. (AP)
Interest Groups’ Budgets Commanding Attention During Campaign
by
Josh Katz
The NRA is spending millions to make its voice heard in the presidential election, but it is hardly the only interest group exerting financial influence.
30-Second Summary
Last week’s landmark Supreme Court decision striking down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban was lauded by the National Rifle Association. The organization also paid careful attention to the presidential candidates’ responses to the ruling.
Ariz. Sen. John McCain was quick to commend the decision, while Ill. Sen. Barack Obama tried to avoid the topic. Like many Democrats before him, Obama understands the influence of the NRA, and would rather elude confrontation with the group on gun issues.
The NRA plans to spend $40 million on the 2008 election, most likely to the benefit of McCain. In fact, $15 million of that money will go toward “portraying Barack Obama as a threat” to gun rights, according to Politico.
However, $40 million is not an overwhelming sum in the special-interest arena. For example, the nation’s largest union, the AFL-CIO, has about $200 million in its coffers. The union endorsed Barack Obama last week. U.S. labor unions are expected to put $300 million toward the election.
McCain and Obama have also sparred over America’s future energy policy. McCain has pushed to remove bans on oil drilling, expand nuclear power and pursue clean-coal technology, while Obama has been a strong proponent of ethanol subsidies, for example. Interest groups have bombarded both candidates, but McCain’s campaign asserts that he “ignores the pleas of special interests” by exploring so many different solutions, according to Bloomberg.com.
The debate over the influence of special interest groups took another turn at the end of June when Obama turned back on his earlier pledge and declined the use public financing.
Ariz. Sen. John McCain was quick to commend the decision, while Ill. Sen. Barack Obama tried to avoid the topic. Like many Democrats before him, Obama understands the influence of the NRA, and would rather elude confrontation with the group on gun issues.
The NRA plans to spend $40 million on the 2008 election, most likely to the benefit of McCain. In fact, $15 million of that money will go toward “portraying Barack Obama as a threat” to gun rights, according to Politico.
However, $40 million is not an overwhelming sum in the special-interest arena. For example, the nation’s largest union, the AFL-CIO, has about $200 million in its coffers. The union endorsed Barack Obama last week. U.S. labor unions are expected to put $300 million toward the election.
McCain and Obama have also sparred over America’s future energy policy. McCain has pushed to remove bans on oil drilling, expand nuclear power and pursue clean-coal technology, while Obama has been a strong proponent of ethanol subsidies, for example. Interest groups have bombarded both candidates, but McCain’s campaign asserts that he “ignores the pleas of special interests” by exploring so many different solutions, according to Bloomberg.com.
The debate over the influence of special interest groups took another turn at the end of June when Obama turned back on his earlier pledge and declined the use public financing.
Headline Links: ‘NRA plans $40M fall blitz targeting Obama’
“The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court,” according to Politico.
Source: Politico
On June 26, 2008, the Associated Press reported, “The AFL-CIO endorsed Barack Obama for president Thursday, uniting the nation’s 15 million union workers behind the Illinois senator and giving him full access to organized labor’s massive bank accounts and political machinery.” The endorsement opens up the organization’s $200 million for Obama’s campaign. The U.S. labor movement in total is expected to spend about $300 million on this year’s elections.
Source: Boston Globe
Background: Supreme Court rules on gun law; Obama declines public financing
The Supreme Court on June 26 declared Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban a violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Source: findingDulcinea
On June 20, The New York Times reported that Sen. Obama, unlike Sen. McCain, would decline public financing, asserting that the system had fallen apart. Obama said, “John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And we’ve already seen that he’s not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Related Topics: The energy question
On June 23, findingDulcinea reported that John McCain offered a prize of $300 million “for anyone who can invent a low-cost car battery more powerful than anything currently available.” The proposal demonstrated McCain’s deference to the environmentalists and traditionally Democratic voters.
Source: findingDulcinea
The proposed energy policies of both candidates are geared toward certain industries, Bloomberg.com reports. McCain’s energy plan involves putting $30 billion into clean-coal technology research, thus helping the coal industry; he also supports the construction of 45 nuclear power plants. But McCain has been criticized by environmentalist special interests as well as fossil fuel proponents. Obama is pushing for ethanol subsidies, and “tax credits for development of wind and solar energy, financed by cutting tax breaks for oil companies.”
Source: Bloomberg.com
Reference: Following the money
OpenSecrets.org compares the total campaign donations for each candidate and looks into the war chests to see where the money comes from.
Source: OpenSecrets.org
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