slideshow

Outside groups are spending money to influence a number of races in Utah this year. Some of those groups are taking advantage of legal mechanisms to keep their donors secret.

 

Our insiders weigh in on the practice of outside organizations using anonymous donations to affect campaigns and what kind of impact those groups will have on the 2012 elections in Utah.

Some anonymous comments:

"If it's legal, it's fair."

"I think people/organizations that make public comments about individuals and issues should identify themselves."

"It is probably fair, and probably ethical, but is nevertheless very destructive and toxic to our election process and our democracy."

"Want to drive a Kennecott dump truck full of cash up to a candidate and bury him in it? Fine. But I want to know where it came from.""

"Most ethical non profits post annual reports listing their donors. While not required, if these groups insist on transparency in government, as a sector that is inserting itself into the public sphere via their activities, they should also be equally transparent. Model the behavior you expect."

"Anyone should be able to donate to anyone, but there should be disclosure."

"Frankly a lot of this ends when we allow political parties to accept unlimited funds and donors don't become targets."

"I don't know if unethical is the right description but I think it is very poor politics and the person who is benefiting either from the mud slinging at his or her opponent, should clearly and public disclaim the information and publicly request that it stop. I know they can't actually talk to these supposedly independent groups but such action would quickly nip it in the bud."

"The single most important issue is transparency."

"I'm not sure "unethical" covers it. It's more a matter of a Supreme Court that really missed the boat on free speech and fair comment, and actually--democracy. We will be suffering the ramifications of this decision for a very long time."

"It's a terrible practice! It undermines the fundamentals of a democratic society and further diminishes the public's right to a transparent government."

"People should not be such naive consumers of information, those who are end up with the government they deserve."

"It's fair because it's the law, but transparency would do wonders for reform. Not tougher and more complicated rules, just transparency."

"To cast an intelligent and discerning vote, citizens need info to evaluate the source of their information. This doesn't just apply to out of state non-profits. Secret weasels abound right here at home."

"If you are doing political activities, donors need to be disclosed."

"I also think that Utah's lack of campaign finance limits, the lack of meaningful disclosures and absence of enforcement power creates an inherently unethical political system at all levels of government in the state. Just look at the current Winder-Crockett controversy."

"I'm not sure it rises to the level of unethical, but it is certainly not in the best interests of Utah's electorate. Utah citizens should be pushing for and receiving greater transparency."

"The Brad Daw case is unfortunate. It's an unfortunate loophole. Jason Powers should disclose who is contributing."

"My preference is that ALL donors be identified; otherwise, how can voters understand and evaluate the positions favored by the donors. After all, though there is officially no requirement to do so, candidates elected on the strength of donor dollars typically vote to reflect the positions of their donors - and voters have a right to know how candidates are likely to vote if elected."

"Politicians are beholden to $$$ That helps them get elected. Why is this fact so summarily dismissed by the electorate. The system is broken,fix it!"

"It is legal money laundering. Pure and simple."

" It would be nice to have this information, but we all know that where there is a will there is a way, and there has never been a political campaign finance law that has been written that didn't have loopholes for campaign strategists to exploit. If someone is willing to finance positive or negative campaign literature, they should be willing to be identified."

"It's legal and it's freedom of speech."

"Unfair, unethical and certainly ironic when complaining only happens on one side."

"Currently the law allows for it, so it is fair to operate that way. The law needs to be changed to allow for transparency though."

Some anonymous comments:

"What's good for the goose... I hope that certain legislators angered by what they've seen will now enact transparency measures that are long overdue. The mailers in the Brad Daw race are as bad or worse than the stuff in the Senate race."

"We will never get money out of politics. But everyone should be required to disclose their donations."

"Any money spent to directly influence elections should be disclosed as to its source."

"Utah voters have a right to know the financial interest behind their candidates."

"People should know what groups are behind the ads. The ads may look truthful and innocent when in fact they may contain lies. People have the right to know where information is coming from."

"They SHOULD be changed, but, as the GOP made these laws, so they shall have to suffer the consequences."

"How can we say we desire transparency in government when we don't insist on transparency from the groups that disproportionately help elect or unelect the people who get to exercise the levers of governmental power?"

"D'uh. Unless you want criminals, special interests, off-shore money to be providing us with the best candidate that their money can buy. Hasn't anyone heard of the Internet? ALL contributions to anything remotely political - even "issues" ads - should be instantly disclosed online."

"How can anyone be opposed to greater transparency? People should say what they mean and mean what they say. Politicians who aspire to be our leaders should not hide behind the cowardice of anonymity. That goes for their supporters, too."

Some anonymous comments:

"Unfortunately, too many people vote on one-minute TV ads or one-page newspaper ads instead of considering the long-term impact of their favored candidate."

"Will be big in the Matheson/Love contest but nowhere else."

"The 2nd Congressional District vote at the Republican convention shows how easily people can be swayed with messages that have not even been verified."

"Great impact on Love v. Matheson. Little elsewhere unless "pay to play" becomes an issue in the Governor's race."

"Lots, not all voters don't really keep track or remember what an incumbent candidate had done with their time in office. These ads aren't always accurate, but if heard enough, will sound real."

"I think it has largely backfired. It was a surprise in the Bennett race but people were ready for it this year and properly rejected and even were pushed to support the candidate these groups tried to slander."

"Our elections in Utah are so lop-sided toward Republican victory, it won't matter much. People have made up their minds on most races to vote GOP. But the national scene is altogether frightening. (Though I must say, it's getting harder to stomach that Hatch-Lee Superpac ad that paints them as the only true patriots standing between the rest of us and political anarchy. Must we really be subjected to this until November?!)"

"Money matters in races. The influx of outside money into the state has absolutely impacted the citizens of Utah. I believe the increased caucus turnout was due in part to negative advertising by some of these organizations. Ultimately the impact in the Senate race, which is the race alleged to in the first question, will not be enough to unseat the incumbent. However, in this particular case, without outside financial and in kind donations, I seriously doubt this race would have moved past convention. Regardless, the citizens have a right to know the financial interest behind their candidates."

"The greatest impact was already seen in the convention. There is a lesser effect in primaries because people get their information differently and aren't as captive of an audience."

"We want to compete on a fair and even playing field. We must provide FULL disclosure on receipts and expenses."

"The GOP changed the rules so that they could attack in any way they wanted, so, depending on the content of the messaging, the impact could be enormous."

"These messages do have impact. Many voters don't take the time to research who is paying for what. Even a simple PAC label doesn't mean much. The message is delivered and the damage is done."

"From all indications, the amount of money that will flow into the state this year will be huge. And it's an axiom of politics that influence is proportional to money spent."

"I think Utah voters need to be educated about this problem. I think many of them don't realize that some ads come from these groups and their donor information is not disclosed."

"People are smart enough to see through lies and so generally if an outside group is incorrect the attack won't work. I think they provide valuable information."

"The more money, the more your message is heard. It obviously will have an impact. How great, who knows."

Respondents include - 

Fred Adams, Stuart Adams, Jess Agraz, Scott Anderson, Laura Arellano, Patrice Arent, Bette Arial, Neil Ashdown, Bruce Baird, Tom Barberi, Heather Barney, Steve Barth, Jeff Bell, Tom Berggren, Mike Bertelsen, Ron Bigelow, Emily Bingham-Hollingshead, Rob Bishop, Laura Black, Charles Bradley, Jim Bradley, Ralph Brown, Ken Bullock, Chris Bleak, Curt Bramble, Joel Briscoe, Ralph Brown, Aaron Browning, Dave Buhler, Ken Bullock, Ric Cantrell, Maura Carabello, Marty Carpenter, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kay Christensen, David Clark, Kim Coleman, Peter Corroon, Tim Cosgrove, Fred Cox, Lew Cramer, Gene Davis, Richard Davis, Brad Daw, Alan Dayton, Margaret Dayton, Mike Deaver, Brad, Dee, Joseph Demma, Jake Dennis, Dan Deuel, Jeff Dixon, Brian Doughty, Carl Downing, Randy Dryer, Susan Duckworth, Donald Dunn, Alan Eastman, Becky Edwards, Scott Ericson, Chase Everton, Jessica Fawson, Janice Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Lorie Fowlke, Ronald Fox, Ryan Frandsen, Adam Gardiner, Jordan Garn, Luke Garrott, Dave Gessel, Natalie Gochnour, Robert Grow, Karen Hale, David Hansen, Neil Hansen, Joe Hatch, Jeff Hartley, Dan Hauser, Lynn Hemmingway, Deidre Henderson, Neal Hendrickson, Casey Hill, Lyle Hillyard, Kory Holdaway, Randy Horiuchi, Ben Horsley, Bruce Hough, Scott Howell, Greg Hughes, Miriam Hyde, Allison Isom, Casey Jackson, Eric Jergensen, Mike Jerman, Jonathan Johnson, Michael Jolley, Gordon Jones, Leslie Jones, Pat Jones, Kirk Jowers, Jeremy Keele, Brian King, Scott Konopasek, Steve Kroes, Chris Kyler, Carter Livingston, Fred Lampropoulos, Clark Larsen, Douglas Larson, David Litvack, Larry Lunt, Matt Lyon, Ben McAdams, Daniel McCay, Gayle McKeachnie, JT Martin, Maryann Martindale, Jason Mathis, Karen Mayne, Bret Milburn, Derek Miller, Rob Miller, Ethan Millard, Brett Millburn, Karen Morgan, Jeffery Morton, Mike Mower, Holly Mullen, Wayne Niederhauser, Mike Noel, Randy O'Hara, Ralph Okerlund, James Olsen, Val Oveson, Kelly Patterson, John Pearce, Karen Peterson, Frank Pignanelli, Becky Pirente, Marie Poulson, Jason Powers, Tami Pyfer, Joe Pyrah, Mike Reberg, Jill Remington Love, Lauren Richards, Holly Richardson, Robin Riggs, James Roberts, Luz Robles, Ross Romero, Carol Sapp, Don Savage, Bryan Schott, Jay Seegmiller, Jennifer Seelig, Patrick Shea, Randy Shumway, Soren Simonsen, Jeremy Slaughter, Brendan Smith, Brian Somers, Carol Spackman-Moss, Robert Spendlove, Barbara Stallone, Howard Stephenson, David Stringfellow, Mike Styler, Juliette Tennert, Gary Thorup, Kevin Van Tassell, Royce Van Tassel, Doug Thompson, Michael Waddoups, Laura Warburton, Chuck Warren, Christine Watkins, LaVarr Webb, Todd Weiler, Alan West, Mark Wheatley, Larry Wiley, Ted Wilson, Carl Wimmer, Mike Winder, Travis Wood, Thomas Wright

Results from the UtahPolicy.com/KSL Insider poll can be heard on KSL Radio every Friday and read on Utah Policy.com every Monday.