Senator Elizabeth Warren’s recent letter to financial
services companies demanding they disclose their contribution to public policy
groups continues a troubling new development in the campaign against business
participation in the public square. Along with Senator Dick Durbin’s letter this
summer to more than 300 companies affiliated with the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) demanding they explain their views on ALEC’s “Stand
Your Ground” model legislation, anti-business groups increasingly seek to drive
business out of the marketplace of ideas through shame and intimidation
campaigns. Through legislation, public campaigns, and shareholder activism,
groups hostile to business’s political activity now seek to isolate business
and hinder its ability to defend itself against the regulatory state.
Disclosure proponents bring an apparently powerful
one-two punch in favor of disclosure. Groups like the Center for Political Accountability
argue that secret political spending by corporations exposes investors to
legal, political, and reputational risks, which justifies mandatory disclosure
rules. And on the other side of the relationship, critics like Public Citizen and the Center for Media and Democracy
argue that business funding of public policy groups constitutes a conflict of
interest for them…..To Read More.....
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