The Hill News

Today, the Federal Election Commission is holding a public forum to explain its campaign spending reports, and to solicit input on a new “disclosure portal” it hopes will “provide one-stop shopping for campaign finance data.” Shedding light on how government works is commendable. But an FEC forum on disclosure sounds a bit like a seminar on responsible home finance run by the banks that just agreed to pay $26 billion for their mortgage lending abuses.
 
Federal law requires the FEC to collect and publish data on spending by candidates and groups seeking to influence federal elections. The data is useful in the horse race handicapping that constitutes contemporary political analysis: FEC numbers show what candidates raised the most, and who has the most cash on hand.
 
But the FEC has carved loopholes in federal law that allow the real sources of much of today’s political spending to remain hidden. The agency charged with shining disinfectin! g sunlight on political spending is allowing millions of dollars of dark money to swamp our elections.

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