

Every campaign contribution state and federal since 1989. Bulk and Free. - cjoh
http://transparencydata.com/

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ggchappell
This kind of thing scares me.

I understand that the website itself is okay; it's just part of openness in
government. This is already public information. Making public info available
conveniently is a Good Thing.

The problem is with the information itself: there is no context. I'm all for
"standing up and being counted", whether by voting, writing an article, or
making a contribution. But votes are secret, and articles can give context and
explanation, which can be cited later, if ones actions are questioned.

Contributions, on the other hand, are public, but carry no explanations with
them. Typically, when dealing with political candidates, both choices are bad
(at least a little). We do what we can, choosing the lesser of two evils. But
to be on record as making some choice -- necessarily a choice with some
negatives to it -- and without any opportunity to explain oneself? Sounds
risky.

And it can be _very_ risky. I've seen a couple of situations recently, where a
list of contributors was treated as an "enemies list" by someone who opposed
whatever they were contributing to. People attempt to shut down businesses,
etc. And the victims really have no recourse, no forum in which to explain
themselves.

I conclude, therefore, that, in the U.S., or anywhere else with similar laws,
making political contributions is a _bad idea_. My current rule is not to do
it. _Not ever._ And I would advise others to consider acting likewise, as long
as our current laws are in place.

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samratjp
Pretty snappy. Googled some random names and cross checked with this - scary
how comprehensive this list is. Only a matter of time until some kid's gonna
make a Google Earth layer for this :p Wait, make that a twitter mashup.

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groaner
I'm getting some oddball results here with negative contributions:

[http://transparencydata.com/filter/#YW1vdW50PSUzQyU3QzEmZm9y...](http://transparencydata.com/filter/#YW1vdW50PSUzQyU3QzEmZm9yX2FnYWluc3Q9Zm9yJnJlY2lwaWVudF9mdD1mZWluc3RlaW4=)

Are these misplaced contributions actually "against" the candidate (even
though I have "for" selected), or did these contributors somehow get money
back from the campaign coffers?

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jcarbaugh
Campaign web site software is often poorly written. If you enter a negative
number in the amount field you can usually transfer from money FROM the
campaign TO your bank account.

Okay, not really. It's probably a refund. Not sure what the exact specifics of
the transaction are. We get our data from OpenSecrets.org and they list the
same negative contributions on their site.

[http://transparencydata.com/filter/#Y3ljbGU9MjAwNiZjb250cmli...](http://transparencydata.com/filter/#Y3ljbGU9MjAwNiZjb250cmlidXRvcl9mdD1kb25uYSUyMGdhcmJlciZmb3JfYWdhaW5zdD1mb3ImcmVjaXBpZW50X2Z0PWZlaW5zdGVpbg==)

[http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=garber,+do...](http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=garber,+donna&state=&zip=&employ=&cand=feinstein&c2006=Y&sort=N&capcode=4kg4s&submit=Submit)

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startupcomment
Congratulations on the site! On campaign contributions, though I can certainly
applaud and appreciate the need for transparency, I personally have no
intention to contribute $250 or more to any candidate, as I do not want that
information to enter and forever remain in the public domain. I wonder what
kind of dampening effect the disclosure requirements have on political
contributions.

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wtn
I made contributions to presidential candidates in the last two races. I could
find neither in their database.

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cjoh
Were they above $250?

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TNO
The contributions under $250 is where all the interesting stuff is though as
was noted in the last presidential election.

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cjoh
Actually, no. The interesting stuff that you really can't see well is the
relationships between contributors... The sub $250 stuff doesn't really tell
any stories-- it's the bundlers-- those that give a lot and hold lavish
fundraisers to get their friends to give that are buying access.

Give $250 or less, you get a thank you email Give $2500, you get a nice dinner
Bundle 250,000 and you get a cellphone number.

