rssWho’s the Biggest Outside Political Spender of Them All?
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 8:51 am
- 16 Comments
Critics of the media will allege that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have both betrayed their slants today, publishing stories about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, respectively, each claiming its target to be this election cycle’s top outside spender.
The Times’ piece digs into corporate tax filings and finds that while the Chamber claims 300,000 members, nearly half of its $140 million in contributions in 2008 came from just 45 donors — and many of those large donations coincided with lobbying or political campaigns that appeared to benefit those donors. Its accompanying graphic, which calls the Chamber “The Top Non-Party Spender,” says the Chamber has thus far spent over $21 million on this election cycle — more than any group save three of the traditional political party committees.
The Journal’s piece, for its part, says that AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the midterm elections following a decision by the union — made possible by Citizens United — to tap its membership dues to pay for $17 million worth of ads backing Democrats. The article observes that while the political debate and the public’s attention have thus far largely focused on the advertising buys of Republican-backing groups, unions have flown partly under the radar because they traditionally spend much of their cash on other forms of political activities, like get-out-the-vote efforts. Its graphic shows AFSCME’s total edging out the Chamber’s $75 million goal and American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS’s $65 million pledge.
Neither paper’s claim is wrong, per se — they’re simply measuring different things. The Times has attempted to tabulate money that’s been spent (though other databases, like the one at the Sunlight Foundation, suggest that the Times’ figures might be too low), while the Journal is comparing money that groups have pledged to spend. There’s no reason that these groups would lie, of course, but there exists a convoluted logic in campaign finance in which many groups try to both downplay and talk up their importance. “We’re the big dog,” Larry Scanlon, the head of AFSCME’s political operations, couldn’t help telling the Journal. “But we don’t like to brag.”
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Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 9:31 am
[...] Who's the Biggest Outside Political Spender of Them All?The Washington IndependentIts accompanying graphic, which calls the Chamber ?The Top Non-Party Spender,? says the Chamber has thus far spent over $21 million on this election cycle …and more » [...]
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 10:17 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sean Parnell, Jonathan Cohn. Jonathan Cohn said: Which group is spending most on campaigns–Chamber or AFSCME? @jessezwick @TWI_news breaks it down http://su.pr/2xQVrA #p2 #tcot #politics [...]
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 10:22 am
[...] spending we don’t know about Tweet The Washington Independent notes* the amusing fact that this morning the New York Times reports that the Chamber of Commerce is the [...]
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 11:16 am
[...] But according to a graphic in the Times, AFSCME doesn't even make the top 10. As Jesse Zwick explains, the variance is partly due to different ways of measuring spending. The Times is looking at money [...]
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 11:30 am
[...] is significant debate as to who the biggest campaign spenders actually are. (Washington Independent)(Sunlight Foundation Reporting [...]
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
[...] Who's the Biggest Outside Political Spender of Them All?The Washington IndependentCritics of the media will note with amusement that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have both betrayed their slants today, publishing stories about the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of …Campaign's Big SpenderWall Street JournalWho Will Win the Campaign Spending Arms Race?Mother JonesHey, Big Spender!TIME (blog)Politico (blog) -Coosa Valley News -Reason Online (blog)all 21 news articles » No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post) « Obama anti-bullying message called ‘symbolic’ – CNN International Cuomo Leads Paladino 60% to 37% in New York Governor’s Race, Marist Finds – Bloomberg » [...]
Comment posted October 22, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
Interesting comparison — although I'd say that claiming this as evidence of editorial bias in the two papers is perhaps leaping to conclusions.
Pingback posted October 22, 2010 @ 6:00 pm
[...] Washington Independent has an interesting comparison between the NY Times story on Chamber spending (I wrote about it here) and a story from the Wall [...]
Pingback posted October 23, 2010 @ 9:52 pm
[...] Who’s the Biggest Outside Political Spender of Them All? « The Washington Independent [...]
Pingback posted October 25, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
[...] on Who’s the biggest outside spender of them all? for the Washington Independent’s analysis of the differences between the New York Times and [...]
Pingback posted October 25, 2010 @ 1:48 pm
[...] on Who’s the biggest outside spender of them all? for the Washington Independent’s analysis of the difference between the New York Times and [...]
Pingback posted November 6, 2010 @ 4:43 am
[...] Thеѕе are the consequences οf the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision. but obviously ѕοmе footnotes are іn order. the Times’ tаlе іѕ based on federal elections data, аnd іt’s nοt clear what numbers οr timeline the Journal іѕ using. also, the Times appears tο be using јυѕt the spending by the U.S. Chamber аnd nοt its powerful foundation. maybe the Journal hаѕ a scoop tο derail the increasing criticism οf the U.S. Chamber. Thеrе′s no qυеѕtіοn thаt the overall fund-raising edge іѕ held by the rіght. (Thе Washington Independent hаѕ аn fаѕсіnаtіng comparison οf the two tаlеѕ here). [...]
Pingback posted November 9, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
[...] These are the consequences of the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision. But obviously some footnotes are in order. The Times’ story is based on federal elections data, and it’s not clear what numbers or timeline the Journal is using. also, the Times appears to be using just the spending by the U.S. Chamber and not its powerful foundation. maybe the Journal has a scoop to derail the increasing criticism of the U.S. Chamber. There’s no question that the overall fund-raising edge is held by the right. (The Washington Independent has an interesting comparison of the two stories here). [...]
Comment posted December 2, 2010 @ 3:36 pm
Times has attempted to tabulate money that’s been spent.
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