National Institute on Money in State Politics John Dunbar Center for Public Integrity May 30, 2014

What We Know: Transparency Challenges & Opportunities The Role of Journalism

The Good News

Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone 76 percent of Americans think spending by outside groups on political ads should be limited (CBS News poll, 5/21/14).

Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone 79 percent of Americans disapproved of the high court’s Citizens United ruling (Quinnipiac University, April, 2010).

Campaign Finance Reform: Who Cares? Almost Everyone 50 percent of Americans say they would vote for a law that establishes government funding of federal campaigns (Gallup, 6/24/2013).

The Bad News

We Just Don’t Care Enough When respondents were asked to name their top priorities for President Obama and Congress in a January, 2012, Pew Research Center poll, campaign finance was ranked 21st of 22 issues. (Global warming was ranked dead last, which is of concern for entirely different reasons.)

How Do We Make Them Care?

Educate Them People won’t care about an issue if they don’t understand it.

A boring explainer becomes stunningly popular The ‘Citizens United’ decision and why it matters By John DunbarJohn Dunbar October 18, 2012 Sometimes donor disclosure reveals little. This was posted on our website more than 18 months ago and it is STILL among the top traffic draws. Since its posting, the it has received 55,142 page views with an average time on the story of 7 minutes, 21 seconds. (That’s like a year in Internet time.) People do care, and they are curious about campaign finance issues.

Show Impact Show how money in politics affects people’s lives.

Representative government in action Meet the Banking Caucus, Wall Street's secret weapon in Washington By Daniel Wagner and Alison FitzgeraldDaniel WagnerAlison Fitzgerald April 24, 2014 Industry campaign cash flows to pro-bank activists in Congress, yielding big returns. Many consumer protections approved in the Dodd-Frank bank reforms have been stonewalled thanks to a group of House members who act as mouthpieces for the financial services industry.

Big Oil, Bad Air Saturated with oil money, Texas legislature saved industry from pollution rule By David Hasemyer, Ben Wieder and Alan SudermanDavid HasemyerBen WiederAlan Suderman February 18, 2014 An effort to impose stricter rules on Texas oil and gas operators in 2011 fizzled after the state legislature got involved. This joint investigation with our environmental team, Inside Climate News and The Weather Channel looked at the oil and gas holdings of the Texas Legislature as part of an investigation into breathing problems suffered by area residents of the oil- rich Eagle Ford area of Texas.

We’re talking about real money here Nearly $100 million in campaign cash sits idle By Dave LevinthalDave Levinthal May 22, 2014 What happens to campaign money of former congressional candidates? It often sits in accounts for years. This was a story about losing candidates who can’t bear to let go of their campaign war chests. Dave Levinthal points out that the funds might make a huge difference for various charities.

Summing Up People feel there’s too much money in the political process, but they do not connect the dots to actual issues. Nearly every issue that affects Americans on a daily basis is a money in politics issue. Until and unless we show that unlimited spending in elections affects people’s every day lives, they will continue not to engage. For journalism, one solution is to teach reporters who are issue experts about influence and campaign finance.

Thank You! John Dunbar The Center for Public Integrity