Doug Chalmers, managing member of Chalmers Pak & Burch LLC, was recently interviewed by Atlanta Business Chronicle staff writer Dave Williams about the role of independent super PACs in fundraising for the upcoming presidential election.
Here is an excerpt from the Atlanta Business Chronicle article, “Super PACs taking over presidential sweepstakes”- August 14, 2015:
That new [super PAC] era began in 2010, when two U.S. Supreme Court rulings held that the First Amendment protects independent political spending. Those decisions led to the formation of a new form of political action committee, the super PAC, which may raise unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and associations, as long as it does not coordinate its activities with the candidate it supports.
Chalmers said the rise of super PACs is a reaction to previous laws enacted by supporters of campaign finance reform that set strict limits on contributions to political parties and candidates, notably the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002.
“Political speech should be unlimited,” Chalmers said. “By placing extraordinary limits on parties and candidates, they’ve left few outlets. … It’s the law of unintended consequences.”
For those with a subscription to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, click here to read the complete article.
