Follow the Money....Straight to the Media

[rucky]

Where does all this campaign cash go? A huge chunk is to buy ads on TV, radio & print.

I bet if we looked into it, we'd see a DIRECT correlation between campaign fundraising and positive media coverage. The candidates accused of being "annoited" are the ones raising the most cash at the time. Obama gets more positive coverage than Hillary. Dems get more positive coverage than Republicans. I remember seeing one of those debate talk-time meters back when we had 8 candidates, and talk-time was directly proportional to funds raised. Maybe the media isn't as much conservative-biased than it is money-biased? Money = Speech.

It's nice to have that work in our favor for once, but it's still a dirty game that must change. Just because we temporarily have the media's favor, doesn't mean we should continue playing by their rules.

Campaign reform better still be on the front-burner when we take the White House!

[unpossibles]

1. of course the media is money-driven

but that does not mean it's not also conservatively-biased, and in fact just reinforces that idea.

[lisainmilo]

2. Obama is pro-campaign finance reform

It's part of his ethics reform ideas.

First here is his record.

Federal Ethics Reform: Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that

was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel,

mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became

part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The Washington Post wrote in an editorial, "The final package is the strongest

ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet."

Google for Government: Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden from

public view for too long. That's why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to create a Google-like search engine to

allow regular people to approximately track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "It

would enable the public to see where federal money goes and how it is spent. It's a brilliant idea."

Illinois Reform: In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law in

Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from

lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

A High Standard: Unlike other candidates Obama's campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action

committees.

Here is what he proposes.

Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet database of

lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format.

Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power of the presidency to fight for an independent

watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints

will be investigated.

Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to

reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. Obama introduced public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and is

the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored Senator Russ Feingold's (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public financing system.

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a "contracts and influence" database that will

disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.

Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax

earmarks — are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable format.

End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by requiring that nearly all contract orders over $25,000

be competitively awarded.

Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to

review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and

comment on the White House website for five days.

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by

disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be

approved by the full Senate.

Bring Americans Back into their Government

Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to

have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.

Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that communications about regulatory policymaking

between persons outside government and all White House staff are disclosed to the public.

Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the executive branch departments and rulemaking

agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can see in person or watch on the Internet

these debates.

Release Presidential Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an Obama administration will be permitted to work on

regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be

able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a

form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.

Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head the agency, and the result was a disaster

for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in an Obama administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence

in the agency's mission.

Obama for President: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/

:)