Cash Talk, Trash Talk

Each election candidates raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns. So much money in fact that Supreme Court cases are needed to set regulations on how candidates can acquire funds. In 2002, President Bush passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act which set regulations on financing political campaigns, including the increase of soft money to the political party as a whole and of issue advocacy ads. In Minnesota, the dispute among how candidates may accept funds is also an issue. 

Prior to the November 2^nd elections, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled in favor of corporations disclosing campaign finances. In other words, sources of contributions must be released if the amount exceeds the company's general treasury revenue. Even before this decision, however, the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill requiring candidate spending reports from corporations and unions. For quite some time corporations in Minnesota were not able to use revenue to help a candidate's campaign, but this turned out to be an intrusion of free speech. It seems to be that the only ones opposed to the law are those affiliated with the big businesses. Minnesota's Attorney General, Lori Swanson, stated, "An informed electorate is the cornerstone of our democracy. This ruling lets average voters know who is financing elections in Minnesota". Is it really such a horrible idea to know where all this money is coming from?

Judge won't block campaign finance law | StarTribune.com