| Top 10 Contributors to Political Parties Between 89’-Present | ||
| 1 | ATT&T Corp. | $44,361,209 |
| 2 | American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees | $42,248,261 |
| 3 | National Assn of Realtors | $35,733,073 |
| 4 | Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $31,660,630 |
| 5 | American Assn for Justice | $31,645,679 |
| 6 | Goldman Sachs | $31,612,375 |
| 7 | National Education Assn | $30,194,067 |
| 8 | Laborers Union | $29,132,400 |
| 9 | Service Employees International Union | $28,134,482 |
| 10 | Teamsters Union | $28,029,624 |
| Total: | $332,751,800 | |
That was only the top 10. This situation is made worse when taking into account the Supreme Decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (and here.)
The case, which was appealed from the US States District Court for the District of Columbia, arose from a dispute on whether Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization, could advertise a video-on-demand movie which was critical of Hillary Clinton in violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA or McCain-Feingold Act). In dispute was an initial order to stop the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from enforcing the conditions of BCRA which would prevent the movie from being shown within 30 days of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary elections.
In this decision the Supreme Court found that funding independent political broadcasts in elections cannot be limited because of the First Amendment. The ruling, which was a 5-4 decision (split across ideological lines), found that in the case of either for-profit or non-for-profit organizations and unions that BCRA could not prevent a broadcasting of “electioneering communications” (which is a “broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary”).
What does this mean for the American people? Stay tuned!
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