The ramifications of yesterday's decision to ditch the cap on corporate campaign funding are still being figured out, but environmental groups are clear on one point: it's going to help those who oppose green initiatives. With big oil and others able to spend as much as they want backing pro-industry candidates—or attacking those looking to regulate emissions—the fight for shaping America's environmental policy just got a whole lot tougher.
From Mother Jones:
Cathy Duvall, political director of Sierra Club, warned in a statement that the ruling will unleash a "tidal wave of special interest cash and influence peddling" on the electoral process. The decision, Duvall noted, will give even more power to major lobbying groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, that regularly oppose environmental regulations. The Chamber's Michigan division was a party to one of the campaign finance cases the Court ruled on today, which could allow the organization to spend similar sums on political advertising as it currently does on lobbying. According to fourth-quarter filings released yesterday, the Chamber spent $71 million on lobbying last quarter, bringing the group's 2009 total to $123 million, more than it has ever spent. By comparison, its political action committee has been spending small change—just $248,381 in 2008 and $235,233 in 2006. The Chamber has pledged to wage its "most aggressive" election fight ever in 2010, and earlier announced it had amassed a $100 million war chestfor lobbying and political advocacy this year.
Read the full breakdown at Mother Jones' website.
Photo: Reuters/Jim Young
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