Poligraph: Franken gets campaign spending numbers right
The U.S. Senate once again fell short of the required 60 votes to advance a bill this week that would require groups getting involved in politics to say more about where they're getting their money.
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken is a leading proponent of the DISCLOSE Act, and gave a lengthy speech about the legislation on the Senate floor Monday.
To make his case for why greater transparency is so important, Franken pointed out what he says is a disturbing trend in political spending.
"In the 2010 election, these outside groups spent more than $280 million on campaign ads, which was more than double what they spent in 2008, more than five times what they spent in 2006, and even more shockingly, there are estimates that outside groups will spend more than $1 billion on independent expenditures this election cycle," Franken said during his July 16, 2012 speech.
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Franken uses solid data to make his point.
The Evidence
The DISCLOSE Act would require any non-candidate organization that spends $10,000 or more during an election cycle to file a report immediately with the Federal Election Commission identifying donors who gave more than $10,000.
In the wake of several landmark court cases that lead to the proliferation of super PACs, supporters of the bill say such legislation is needed now more than ever. And they say that corporations and wealthy individuals are increasingly putting their money into tax-exempt organizations that can spend on political advertising without having to say who is funding the effort.
It's true that in 2010 outside spending groups spent roughly $286 million on advertising, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks political spending.
It's not clear whether Franken is correct when he says spending by outside groups doubled between 2008 and 2010. OpenSecrets.org says the spending was about the same in both cycles. But another group, the Campaign Finance Institute, reports that spending did double between cycles, with outside groups spending roughly $119 million in 2008.
Franken's back on track with the third part of his claim. In 2006, outside groups spent about $52 million on ads - or about 5 times less than in 2010.
As for the last part of Franken's claim, it's speculation, but not unfounded. In May, Politico reported that outside groups are prepared to spend a combined $1 billion or more on the presidential and congressional races this year.
The Verdict
Franken gets this one largely correct. Though one reputable source says that outside campaign spending in 2008 was nearly the same as spending in 2010, he's still on point: outside groups are putting more money into elections than ever before.
Franken earns an accurate.
SOURCES
C-SPAN, floor debate over the DISCLOSE Act, June 16, 2012
THOMAS, The DISCLOSE Act, accessed June 17, 2012
OpenSecrets.org, Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, Excluding Party Committees, accessed June 17, 2012
The Campaign Finance Institute, Non-Party Spending Doubled in 2010 But Did Not Dictate the Results, Nov. 5, 2010
The Campaign Finance Institute, Reportable Spending by Party and Non‐Party Groups in Congressional Elections, 2006‐2010, accessed July 17, 2012
Demos, 10 Ways Citizens United Endangers Democracy, Jan. 19, 2012
PBS News Hour, How Do You Spend $1 Billion in a White House Race Anyway?, May 30, 2012
Politico, GOP groups plan record $1 billion blitz, by Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei, May 30, 2012