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F.E.C. Can’t Curb 2016 Election Abuse, Commission Chief Says

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday May 05 2015, @07:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the bureaucracy-at-its-finest dept.

AnonTechie writes in on the ineffectiveness of the US Federal Election Commision:

The leader of the US Federal Election Commission, the agency charged with regulating the way political money is raised and spent, says she has largely given up hope of reining in abuses in the 2016 US presidential campaign, which could generate a record $10 billion in spending.

“The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” Ann M. Ravel, the chairwoman, said in an interview. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the F.E.C. is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”

Her unusually frank assessment reflects a worsening stalemate among the agency’s six commissioners. They are perpetually locked in 3-to-3 ties along party lines on key votes because of a fundamental disagreement over the mandate of the commission, which was created 40 years ago in response to the political corruption of Watergate.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by K_benzoate on Tuesday May 05 2015, @08:11PM

    by K_benzoate (5036) on Tuesday May 05 2015, @08:11PM (#179240)

    You haven't caught me out, mate. I don't want any of their money in politics. I don't care what "side" they're on, although I don't hide the fact that I think the extreme Right is more pernicious to society currently because they enjoy a natural economic advantage and are incumbent.

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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:32AM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:32AM (#179369)

    The US doesn't really have a left/right divide like other western democracies do.
    Both of your political parties are extremely right wing (economically anyway) compared to the civilized world.

    • (Score: 2) by K_benzoate on Wednesday May 06 2015, @04:31AM

      by K_benzoate (5036) on Wednesday May 06 2015, @04:31AM (#179387)

      I absolutely agree, and nothing I said contradicts that. The Democratic Party is (largely) a centre-right party. The Republican Party is a far-right party. Most Americans are so warped in their understanding of politics that they think the minute differences between the D's and the R's constitute the entire Right-Left divide, instead of a small slice of it on the right.

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