House Democrats Mount Backlash to Political Money Riders

More than 100 House Democrats urged congressional leaders Wednesday to block a slate of campaign finance riders from an omnibus spending deal.... The lawmakers say they oppose an effort to eliminate spending limits on coordination between political parties and their candidates as well as a measure to repeal or roll back the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits charities from endorsing political candidates. The Democrats also want GOP leadership to scrap restraints on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the IRS from working on new rules about political disclosures.... “Each of these changes would have dramatic implications for our nation’s campaign finance system, widening the channels of influence for wealthy and well-connected campaign donors and further exacerbating the flood of undisclosed and unaccountable ‘secret money’ into our political system,” states the letter from Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., and 112 of his colleagues.