Public Campaign Action Fund - Presidential public financing

Small donors v. big money

Adam Smith — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:58:39 -0500

David Donnelly has a new piece up at Huffington Post highlighting that while Obama may be raking in donations under $200, you only have to look to his colleagues on the Hill to see the money is coming from the same old locations.

More on the opt-out

Adam Smith — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:13:27 -0500

Yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) announced that he would opt-out of the presidential public financing system. The news got picked up far and wide.

Obama Opts Out

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:07:57 -0500

Senator Barack Obama (D) has decided to opt out of the partial public financing system for the general presidential election, the first candidate to do so since the system was adopted. He is expected to have a fundraising advantage over Republican rival John McCain. In response to Obama's decision, Public Campaign Action Fund has released this statement.

Before It's Too Late

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:39:50 -0500

Sen. John McCain has been on the receiving end of most of the finger-wagging on the campaign finance front in recent days but the New York Times takes a moment to admonish Sen. Barack Obama as well for what they feel is a diminished commitment to the presidential public financing program, which the Times supports and wants to see strengthened for the coming years.

Obama Clarifies

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:04:35 -0500

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, discussed here in The Hill, Sen. Barack Obama addressed the thorny issue of taking public financing for the general election if he is the Democratic presidential nominee. He attempted to clarify his position, saying he'd like to take public financing and keep the system alive, but was worried about independent expenditures.

Two out of three

Adam Smith — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:41:08 -0500

The USA Today spends some time in an editorial today highlighting the ever-increasing role of money in the political process and the need for full public financing of elections for Congress and a fix for the presidential public financing system.

First Time Match-Up

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:21:06 -0500

Emily Cadei at CQ Politics notes that this could be the first presidential elections to match up two vocal supporters of public financing of elections, in the form of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. She rightly identifies the glee with which we anticipate the topic of public financing receiving the attention it deserves, despite the barbs the candidates have been trading over the presidential public financing system.

Worth Saving

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:47:01 -0500

Robert Lenhard, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission writes in support of the presidential public financing program in this piece for the Washington Post, but he notes the faults that have emerged in the program and the pressing need to address the level of funding the system provides.

Call for Clarity

Katie Schlieper — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:29:49 -0500

One of Sen. John McCain's (R) home state newspapers, The Arizona Republic, is taking him to task for his muddied position on the presidential public financing system noting in particular the contrast between McCain's reputation as a reformer and his seeming ambivalence towards the presidential public financing program.

Cash or Credibility

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:38:25 -0500

Tired of the Barack Obama vs. John McCain battle over presidential public financing? Too bad! The Los Angeles Times wades in to the debate suggesting that if Obama and McCain end up opting out of the public financing program for the general election they'll only be hurting themselves.