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Subscribe to RSSWASHINGTON - Americans moved a step closer to being able to make campaign contributions by text message on Wednesday when the Federal Election Commission approved protections sought by wireless carriers over fraud and profitability.
The FEC ruled that wireless carriers would have no responsibility for possible fraudulent campaign donations and could decide whether to refuse text-donation services to campaigns if they are not deemed commercially viable.
Related: Pa. judge refuses to block voter ID law
"Barring some unforeseen issue I think this increases the likelihood that text donations in some form will be used this year," said Jan Baran, a prominent campaign finance lawyer representing carriers. "The carriers are evaluating to see if there are any other concerns that may not have been addressed."
The presidential candidates and their running mates take swipes at one another while campaigning in the Midwest, criticizing the other's fiscal and energy plans. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
The FEC's historic approval of text-to-donate for political campaigns on June 11 allowed anonymous donations by text capped at $10 per text, $50 per month and $200 per cycle to comply with disclosure requirements.
The campaigns of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney both supported approval of such donations, which were touted as a step toward empowering smaller donors in the 2012 campaign marked by a flood of multimillion-dollar donations.
But the mobile companies that would implement the program, including the four U.S. giants Sprint Nextel Corp, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, asked the FEC for another vote for more specific guidance.
CARRIERS' CONCERNS
The carriers' two main concerns were about liability over fraudulent or excessive donations and discretion over which campaigns they do business with, industry officials have said.
The FEC on Wednesday put the onus on the political campaigns, saying they were "solely responsible" for ensuring donations comply with federal laws that prohibit donations from corporations, foreign nationals and people under 18 years old.
The FEC also ruled that carriers, like other vendors in the past, should be allowed to develop commercial eligibility criteria that would allow them to refuse text message donation services to some campaigns.
For instance, the service could be limited to presidential campaigns or reserved for candidates who are on the ballot or have a history of successful fundraising, according to examples the carriers' trade group CTIA has presented to the FEC.
"Wireless service providers propose 'to establish objective business criteria that are specific to political contribution text messaging campaigns.' They may decide, for commercial reasons, to accept only proposals from some political committees and not others," the FEC said in the new ruling.
"Alternatively, the wireless service providers may decide that it would not be in their 'commercial' interest to participate in the political fundraising process and 'refuse participation by all political committees.'"
The CTIA's comments to the FEC submitted ahead of the vote also indicate that carriers seek the ability to "refuse to sell services to candidates who, based on the wireless service providers' business judgments, espouse views that may harm the wireless service providers' brands."
That position has raised red flags among some observers who worry it gives phone companies dangerous power to pick and chose participants. Wireless carriers have argued they need that power to protect themselves from damages to their business.
"The brand is so important for these companies, and it doesn't take much to have that sullied," said Jeffrey Silva, a telecommunications policy analyst at Medley Global Advisors.
REACHING MANY
About 88 percent of U.S. adults have at least one cell phone line and about three-quarters of those use text messaging, according to the Pew Research Center.
The top four carriers account for about 90 percent of the more than 330 million wireless subscriptions in the nation.
Sprint spokeswoman Crystal Davis said the firm was reviewing the FEC's rule and "intends to implement this new service in a way that adheres to FEC regulations for political contributions (and) protects the privacy of our customers."
A T-Mobile representative declined comment, while Verizon and AT&T representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 2012 campaign has been marked by an unprecedented flow of multimillion-dollar donations to outside spending groups that have no fundraising limits.
The text donation proposal approved in June had been brought to the FEC by political consulting firms Red Blue T LLC and ArmourMedia Inc and corporate aggregator m-Qube Inc, which serves as a middleman between campaigns and mobile companies.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Why is the government now regulating donations by text messaging? The government should not regulate political compaing donations at all. All the government has done is make a giant mess and made it very hard for people with small campaings to get elected.
If a company or individual wants to donate to an individuals campaing let them do it, it's not like it's stopping them now. We'll keep reeleting corrupt people like Schumer, Obama, and Romeny anyway.
All the government has done is make a giant mess and made it very hard for people with small campaings to get elected.
I think that is the point. The democrats and republicans don't want any third partiers or independents to unseat them.
They never HAVE, nor will they EVER want someone to unseat them. Whatever they are. Govt has to be huge in THIS country. Daily it is obvious why. DAILY for a couple hundred yrs now all you "smaller govt" idiots. We stand neck deep in freedom, AMERICAN freedom, and the enemy is not only without, but within.
Republicans have done more damage to this country in the last decade than is fathomable.
These republican voter supression laws have crossed the line. The dishonor shown to dead american soldiers is the last straw for me. I am ashamed to say it but, the republicans agenda of dividing the country has finally worked on me. Your unhonorable asses better never cross my path. You ALL have crossed the line now, not just your leadership.
Who cares about text-message donations? I would never give my money to a politician (they take enough already).
My question: When will we be able to vote through the Internet?
When it is safe from hackers and denial-of-service attacks. Which probably means never.
Before you make that first text donation, first make sure that you're going to make it to the right candidate.
In message #284, on page 12 of another blog, notrocketscience-503001 asked for a response…
That's only the very beginning of the comment/question. However, In the process of writing my reply, another 8 pages of comments were posted to the blog. That was surely a Hot Topic. But, of all the comments I read, comment #284 was the most thoughtful, and should be considered by everyone. So, I am reposting my answer here, hoping that some of you will comment on what I have offered in response below.
Here is my reply...
notrocketscience, You have really written a stumper for most of the bloggers here. And, like the first responder above, most of the Romney/Ryan supporters do not want to be confused by the facts. That's not an insult to them, by the way. That is simply an observation.
You asked us to let you know what we think, so rather than attempt to go point for point on your comment, or try to vainly argue the Ryan Budget or Romney economic plans, which we all know are each and both mostly propaganda tools that would change drastically if they were to be elected (which they won't be), please allow me to boil it down into a comparison of two basic concepts or ideals.
There is a concept that many of us were taught, both in religious and secular educations, that many refer to as "The Golden Rule." It goes something like this…
That's a great philosophy, and one that if we all tried to live up to would solve practically all the problems in the world today except for, perhaps, natural disasters. Most of our problems, are man-made.
Unfortunately, the rule that has seemed to devolve in business and politics, not just in America but all over the world, is now
Call it what you want but corporate America, among others, use that rule to justify their personal greed and avarice. That's when you end up with successful Vulture Capitalist Companies like Bain Capital, which make their profits by destroying other people's livelihoods, hope, dreams and ultimately their lives.
I could go on, but I think you get the point.
Bottom line is, this country needs to get back to espousing and practicing The Golden Rule. No politician running today is saying that directly, but I believe President Obama and Vice President Biden come closer to that than their opponents in this particular election.
I hope that helps answer your question at least a little bit.
I second that, "Salute" !!!!!!!!!!!!!
But you're fine with the Vulture Socialist "investing" $$ Billions $$ of taxpayer dollars on his politically connected Failed Green Energy Projects like SOLYNDRA and Fisker ?? ( another Fisker burst into flames today).... Be sure to blame P.Obama if one of the fired SOLYNDRA workers family member dies 5 or 6 years from now because they lost their HealthCare coverage when they lost their job....Scheesh !!!
Well said, Bruce. Each of us is only one out of 314 million citizens so no single person can expect to see their efforts cause anything to change. But if enough of us return to conducting ourselves in a manner that sets a better example of respect for others and for the highest ideals of our country, not only behaving decently toward those whose ways we disagree with but also doing the hard things -- questioning the rhetoric, discovering the truth and voting for the candidate whose behavior best exemplifies our highest ideals, the impact will be strong.
AC
The Republican's plan to "save America":
Obama is a failure,Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure.......
vote nobama 2012
tired of the new broke
The Republican's plan to "save America":
Obama is a failure,Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure, Obama is a failure.......
Wow that's sounds a whole lot like Obama's Bush is a failure campaign of 2008.
Guess they're not so different.
Mike in Delray -- It has been pointed out in Time Magazine that Solyndra was picked for a half billion dollar grant by the Bush/Cheney administration. The paperwork wasn't completed and the grant funded until Obama was in office. So, if there was any "crony capitalism" or book-keeping hanky-panky it was due to some of Cheney's cronies. Since Cheney has so many cronies that seems to be pretty accurate.
All Politicians are nothing more than Political Puppets. Every move they make is controlled by the Lobbyist, Special Interest, and the Self Righteous.
Half of all money raised by Politicians (Including Super PAC’S) should go towards the National Debt , Health Care Fund, and Charity. Why don't we "Tax" the Millions of dollars that they collect for their Campaigns?
They should also pay for their own Security out of these Campaign Funds.
Folks,
Who just Blocked da Campaign Finance Reform Bill?
Who just Blocked Obama’s Jobs Bill?
Who rewrote and put a Loophole in da House Version of da Stock Act Bill ?
You Guessed it……Boehner, McConnell , Cantor and da rest of them Republican TeaBilly Politicians…… Can you Imagine da Shenanigans if Romney and Ryan get in.
show me where the constitution gives the FEDERAL govt any authority to regulate political campaigns including donations.
The Constitution doesnt ban smuggling crack or smoking dope....but yet, its illegal.
"interstate commerce"
The Federal Constitution doesn't ban murder either, that's why we pass laws, to implement the broad powers vested in the Constitution.
Calling something a jobs bill doesn't make it a jobs bill just like calling something the Affordable Care Act doesn't mean it actually make health care affordable for all.
If it were up to Mitt “ F da Poor” Romney and Paul “Middle Class Warfare” Ryan…………they would only allow Corporations to Vote and not da Public. Remember Folks…..Corporations are People too.
You BetCha…..Fer Sure.
Posted by dls 37641 Excellent List and Explains da Evil Agenda from da Republican TeaBilly Conservatives.
The Kind of Men who support Mitt “F da Poor “ Romney and Paul “Middle Class Warfare” Ryan.
1) William Koch, Runs Oxbow Carbon, worth $4 Billion, Donation $2 Million to Romney’s Super PAC,
What He Wants: To pollute for free, Koch’s fortune is tied to some of the nation’s dirtiest industries
2) Harold Simmons (a Swift Boater and corporate raider), Traffics in Toxic Chemicals, worth $9.8 Billion, Donation $800,000 to Romney total giving $16.7 Million, What He Wants: Plans to store radioactive waste in Texas
3) Bob Perry, Owner of Perry Homes, Worth $600 Million, Donation $4 Million to Romney’s Super PAC ,
What He Wants: Tort reform to limit jury awards on homebuilders who do shoddy work
4) Jim Davis, Chairman New Balance Shoes, worth $1.8 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Romney’s Super PAC
What He Wants: A lucrative Defense Contract
5) Richard & Bill Marriott, Heir to Marriott Hotel Fortune, Worth $3.3 Billion, Donation $2 Million
to Restore Our Future, What He Wants: A legal pool of foreign born workers to work in their hotels at slave labor rates Romney served twice on the Marriott Board
7) Edward Conard, Ex Managing Director of Bain Capital, Worth $250 Million, Donation $1 Million to
Restore Our Future, What He Wants: To screw taxpayers like Romney does with half the tax rates of others
8) Frank VanderSloot, CEO Melaeuca, Inc., Worth $1 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Romney’s Super
PAC , What He Wants: Less consumer protections
9) Steven Lund, Vice Chairman Nu Skin Enterprises, worth $31.9 Million, Donation $2 Million to Restore
Our Future, What He Wants: A world safe for false advertising & marketing scams
10) Julian Robertson Jr., Hedge Fund Titan, worth $2.5 Billion, Donation $1.25 Million to Restore Our
Future What He Wants: lower taxes for the Rich
11) John Paulson, Hedge Fund Titan, worth $12.5 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Romney’s Super PAC
What He Wants: No restrictions on Wall St. gambling
12) Paul Singer, Hedge Fund Titan, Worth $1 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Romney’s Super PAC What He
Wants: He Needs Fed backing in his lawsuit to collect $2 Billion from Argentina
13) Robert Mercer, CEO Renaissance Technologies, made $125 Million in 2011 alone, Donation $ 1 Million to Romney’s Super PAC ,What He Wants: To squelch a proposed tax on stock options
14) Kenneth Griffin, CEO Citadel LLC, worth $3 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Restore our Future What He
Wants: To end Volcker Rule on Dodd-Frank Wall St excesses
15) L. Francis Rooney III, CEO Rooney Holdings, worth $40 Million, Donation $1 Million to Restore our
Future What He Wants: More building contract patronage
16) Steven Webster, CEO Avista Capital, worth $4 Billion, Donation $1 Million to Romney’s Super PAC
What He Wants: To Drill baby drill first owner of Deep Sea Horizon the worst environmental disaster in the Nation’s history.
17) Donald Trump, Casino Operator who knows what he wants he is just a delusional birther nut
justnofacts
Successful people- looks like a list of outstanding Americans to me.
Mitt “F da Poor” Romney and Paul “Middle Class Warfare” Ryan new Campaign Slogan……….”Vulture Capitalist ”.
You BetCha…..Fer Sure.
Obama/Biden campaign message-
"If we haven't already stolen your money that you earned, please be patient as we intend to steal everything you earn".
Amen to this.
obama thinks we're not paying our fair share when we can't afford to pay for healthcare.
no healthcare= higher taxes
vote nobama 2012
(this is not a dem or rep thing...it's every american)
About damn time!
If you have health insurance, you do not get penalized.
If you freeload your health care through other peoples tax dollars when you can afford to have it, too bad. The party is over.
If you are disabled and can't work, you will not be penalized. So, the only people that will get "taxed", are those too damn cheap to foot their own bills.
As long as you're texting donation for a Democrat it's fine. If you text for a Republican you need serious therapy.
I've been researching the voter suppression efforts by the Republicans and I have to say that I am appalled. This goes way beyond partisan politics. This is a deliberate effort to suppress the vote. If Democrats did this to Republicans all hell would break loose. They have effectively invalidated the Civil Rights Act.
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of votes. They may well win this election by preventing people from voting, not by convincing the majority of the rightness of their position.
My family fought in WWII, Korea, Viet Nam and Iraq for freedom and democracy, not to have the Republican Party set those things aside in the interest of winning an election. I actually believed that there were still some decent people in the Republican Party, people who really did believe in our system of government. I was clearly mistaken. There is no honor and no decency left on that side of the aisle.
Have you complained to the federal govt. about their law to have folks show ID to get a bank account? I mean, that is really discriminating to make them show an ID they don't have, which then forces them to go somewhere to cash their checks. The Fed make people show ID all the time, Heck, my kid can't even play town baseball without showing his birth cert. And remember, all they have to do is go get the photo ID, if they don't already have photo ID, then believe me, they have the time to go and get it
Skippy, what about the Amish or the elderly raised on farms?
Not many of them were born in a hospital or even have a birth certificate.
Hell, my grandmother didn't even have an ID until her late 70 after her husband passed away. Has she died first, she would still not have had an ID. There was no need for her to have one. She didn't drive or do the banking and they both went to the stores together.
You must not be old enough to remember how things used to be.
Your problem, is you're not looking at the bigger picture.
While I agree that we need some sort of identification process, it shouldn't be pressed like this just a couple months away from a presidential election. There is no way hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people can be processed in time to vote.
Funny thing is, this will hurt Republicans more than Democrats since the elderly and Amish typically vote Republican.
Sure, establish an ID requirement -- to take effect in 2014.
underemployed---
if it takes an id to win i'm in. all the lefts lies don't make for a winner.
vote nobama 2012 bring back america!
Does anyone see a certian problem with this? The poor get free, cell phones from the Govt., so who is paying the bill. Did you ever wonder when you see someone using foodstamps in line, but then are on a state of the art cell phone. So my question is: who will be paying for the donation if one of these folks made it? The Govt. will use my tax dollars to give them a free cell phone, and because they get the free phone, they will donate to the canidate that gives them free stuff, then they will use MORE of my tax dollars to pay for the donation. What a gimmick. They are against showing an ID to vote, but then are rushing to get this in place, I wonder why???
Washington, DC | Enthusiasm for the Thomas Jefferson buffalo tail nickel has not carried over to the George W. Bush horse's ass half-cent.
The majority of numismatists quickly gave a big thumbs up to the new five-cent piece. But the half-penny, dubbed simply "The Bush" by hobbyists, has sparked a bitter debate.
"Each half-cent will cost about 0.81 of a cent to mint, creating an unnecessary deficit every year," detractors of The Bush complain. "And it looks so much like a penny, The Bush will facilitate widespread dishonesty. The Bush is doomed to be a miserable failure."
"These will come in very handy when the President's Social Security reforms pass," insist supporters of The Bush. "Once the program is forced into bankruptcy, each retiree will get one in the mail every month. Or they can just feel around under the sofa cushion."
The traditional slogan "In God We Trust" is replaced by "Trust Me" on The Bush, which will make it highly sought after by collectors of U.S. coins with oxymorons.
To see "The Bush" go to
http://www.thespeciousreport.com/2005/05050307bush_penny.html
Hello! I am head of the Wrightly or Romney Super Pac. I am a super pac packer of money for Romney. Just text me at 555-555-5555 with your Romney access fee and I will make sure that your money gets access to his money in our home office in the Bahama's where by law we don't have to tell you what we have or where it came from. Of course it will be all in a blind trust so that by keeping our eyes closed we fully abide by all US Laws that we decide to abide by. We do have a special for all you men and woman that belong to international drug companies Christmas Clubs and are tired of being scalped by those high New York Bank processing fees. The US Treasury has deemed aacount to be terrorists. How can a Christmas Club be a terrorist?
The government is primarily turning the election into a lottery. Sh*t, why don't we just have Obama and Romney flip a f*cking coin....geeez!!!
I find it interesting that the phone companies want protection. Then I started thinking about all the free cell phones; was that part of their concern?
I want to know where I submit billing. I am bombarded by mudslinging ads I did not request, so I feel fully justified in charging for My Time, which is far more valuable than theirs.
Can someone direct me to where I submit bill for my time?
Most monetary political contributions are not donations at all…..they are hopeful investments. Sad.
Gosh, I can easily smell the fraud potential that would give one side, or the other, an unreasonable advantage. Our political hackers will have a field day working their schemes and angles. Accountability will be a joke. You can not monitor the web succesfully.
Notice how our government is able to work together when it comes to getting money into a politicians hands! The one thing that both sides can agree on.
(A political parody song written by Bruce-1628250, to the tune of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" by Steve Edward Nelson / Jack Rollins)
Irrelevant to the story and I wouldn't be advertising that you wrote it.
Mitt's little Annie sat on her fanny,
Shooing reporters away.
"Two returns you have seen
And I want to be Queen,
So won't you just all go away?"
I think this would make a GREAT TEXT MESSAGE...