John Dunbar Center for Public Integrity May 30 2014 What We Know Transparency Challenges amp Opportunities The Role of Journalism The Good News Campaign Finance Reform Who Cares Almost Everyone ID: 284677
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "National Institute on Money in State Pol..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
National Institute on Money in State Politics
John Dunbar
Center for Public Integrity
May 30, 2014Slide2
What We Know: Transparency Challenges & Opportunities
The Role of JournalismSlide3
The Good NewsSlide4
Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone
76 percent of Americans think spending by outside groups on political ads should be limited (CBS News poll, 5/21/14).Slide5
Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone
79 percent of Americans disapproved of the high court’s Citizens United ruling (Quinnipiac University, April, 2010).Slide6
Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone
50 percent of Americans say they would vote for a law that establishes government funding of federal campaigns (Gallup, 6/24/2013).Slide7
The Bad NewsSlide8
We Just Don’t Care Enough
When respondents were asked to name their top priorities for President Obama and Congress in a January, 2012, Pew Research Center poll, campaign finance was ranked 21st of 22 issues.
(Global warming was ranked dead last, which is of concern for entirely different reasons.)Slide9
How Do We Make Them Care?Slide10
Educate Them
People won’t care about an issue if they don’t understand it.Slide11Slide12
A boring explainer becomes stunningly popular
The ‘Citizens United’ decision and why it matters
By
John Dunbar
October
18, 2012
Sometimes
donor disclosure reveals little.
This was posted on our website more than 18 months ago and it is STILL among the top traffic draws.
Since its posting, the it has received 55,142 page views with an average
time on
the story of 7 minutes, 21 seconds. (That’s like a year in Internet time.)
People do care, and they are curious about campaign finance issues.Slide13
Show Impact
Show how money in politics affects people’s lives.Slide14Slide15
Representative government in action
Meet the Banking Caucus, Wall Street's secret weapon in Washington
By
Daniel Wagner
and
Alison Fitzgerald
April
24, 2014
Industry
campaign cash flows to pro-bank activists in Congress, yielding big returns.
Many consumer protections approved in the Dodd-Frank bank reforms have been stonewalled thanks to a group of House members who act as mouthpieces for the financial services industry.Slide16Slide17
Big Oil, Bad Air
Saturated with oil money, Texas legislature saved industry from pollution rule
By
David
Hasemyer
,
Ben Wieder
and
Alan Suderman
February 18, 2014
An
effort to impose stricter rules on Texas oil and gas operators in 2011 fizzled after the state legislature got involved.
This joint investigation with our environmental team, Inside Climate News and The Weather Channel looked at the oil and gas holdings of the Texas Legislature as part of an investigation into breathing problems suffered by area residents of the oil-rich Eagle Ford area of Texas.Slide18Slide19
We’re talking about real money here
Nearly $100 million in campaign cash sits idle
By
Dave Levinthal
May 22, 2014
What
happens to campaign money of former congressional candidates? It often sits in accounts for years.
This was a story about losing candidates who can’t bear to let go of their campaign war chests. Dave Levinthal points out that the funds might make a huge difference for various charities.Slide20
Summing Up
People feel there’s too much money in the political process, but they do not connect the dots to actual issues.
Nearly every issue that affects Americans on a daily basis is a money in politics issue.
Until and unless we show that unlimited spending in elections affects people’s every day lives, they will continue not to engage.
For journalism
, one
solution is to teach reporters who are issue experts about influence and campaign finance.Slide21
Thank You!
John Dunbar
The Center for Public Integrity
202-481-1240
jdunbar@publicintegrity.org