I wonder why they mainstream, and right wing media didn't notice this?

I don't know when the American people will wake up to this problem! I mean, those of us who post here regularly for the most part are aware of what goes on but the average voter who pays little attention to politics or government has no true idea. I've been saying forever that we need major campaign finance reform. We need to take big money, big business and lobbyists totally OUT of our election process and politics in general. I don't know what the answer is because if I said campaigns should be publicly funded the anti-government crowd would throw fits and the last think I'D like to see would be for campaigns to be paid for by the candidate because that would mean we'd only have very wealthy people running for office! The Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court has only made a bad problem many times worse. Did you hear about Target donating $150,000 to a group that is giving to an anti-gay candidate in Minnesota? Annie

my view is before anyone decides to elect someone is look into their background and what they did in the past with their life,get many opinions from people on respectable websites who were involved with the person before he/she was running for office. don't just go by what a politician supports or doesn't support in his campaign or hype which is just as bad. 24/7 news channels are less reliable and more of a biased view when looking for information on a politician. personally the 30 minute news i watch on cbs almost everyday at 6:30 is more trusted then the news channels. that is if you subtract the Dan Rather screwup he reported on Bush some years back,lol. trusted information is still out there.

This is not a Republican or Democratic problem but a problem with Big Government and the rules they develop to "Protect Us". (from who?) If you study history you will see that every time the government grew so did the corruption. Often times the corruption grew faster than the government. The answer is smaller Government and fewer rules and regulations. Most of our federal elected officials are being paid more than 90% of the population and they work for us! Being elected should be service and not a highly paid career. The government employees are among the best paid and have the best benefits of any group. That should not be, we are paying them more than the average tax payer earns and give them better benefits. One report showed that during the past year government workers faced fewer layoff, the major jobs growth was due to government employment, and received increases in salary, while the private sector lost jobs and salary.

I think most of us ARE awake to this fact. I cant speak for anybody else, but I know I am. This happens on both sides of the aisle and has been happening for many many years.

And now that the SEC has been granted immunity to FOIA requests....no more information on this will come out. It's all a grand illusion that we have a "choice" in our elections.

It happens on both sides unforunately. Both sides are already bought and paid for BEFORE they are elected...and a lot of corporations are getting smart and not putting their eggs in one basket. Like the medical and oil companies. They used to just throw money at the republicans...til the realized it really sucked when they lost. Now they throw tons of money at both sides...that way who ever wins...they get taken care of. A lot of companies have followed suit...most don't give to just one side anymore...they give to both and heavily so they have influence no matter who wins. Wall street throws money both ways now too. Look at the last election. they wanted to make sure the dems owed them. We need to change how our campaigns are fianced. We need to outlaw lobbyists. We need to push corporate america out of the process.We need to cut activist groups out of the process. Personally I would like to see individuals only being able to give to campaigns..not lobbyist groups, not corporations, not activist groups and a limit on how much they give to a more reasonable amount. It will lessen the big fish's influence. Now seeing that list...they spread the money around. Spent it on candidates they liked. the party they liked. Nothing wrong with that. We should all be able to support a candidate we like or a pary we like if we want. But the amounts are what bugs me. If you give that kind of money to a candidate or party...then they owe you something...or at least have a responsibility to look out for your interests. Which is wrong. Right now it is a big money grab...you know why? look at past elections. Who ever raises the most money and spends the most money just about always wins. So our politicans (who naturally want to win) go looking to get their hands on every dollar they can. which means to ge the most bang for their time and effort they go after the money from the rich or coporations or activiest groups with deep pockets. We have to change how the game is played if you want to change how they act when they get into office.

That's the way the world goes round. It's not just one side. Both sides play dirty. You can't say Fox news it not grossly right wing. They purposely put things on their to make liberals look stupid. And they are paid a lot to do that. But on the other side CNN does the same thing for the left side. Money equals media control which equals power in this country. Everyone is thinking about their bottom line and lining their back pockets. I have no idea how we would change it, though one big factor right now is the internet. The government can't control blogging, therefore they can't control the media with the powerful hand they once had. People are forming their own opinions and sharing them. This scares the hell out of the big wigs. This is how many we can regain control.