superpacs, the amount of money being spent in this presidential campaign, she is with the center for responsive politics and later, with the attacks in iraq, many question whether al-qaeda is making a resurgence in this country, nora benashel will join us for a -- with center for a new american security on iraq that as washington journal continues. >> on after words, frederick harris argues that obama's reelection undermined the civil rights movement that made it possible, followed with "vanity fair" contributor edward klein with a critical look at the president before and after he reached the white house, from his best seller "the amateur". then at 10:45, former chief economist at the world bank, nobel prize winner joseph stigeltt. s on why growing economic divisions are bad for our country. part of book tv on c-span2. >> washington journal continues. >> our topic, money in politics, nobody knows it better than sheila krumholz, executive director of the center for responsive politics. good morning, thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: bloomberg business, karl rove, in 2000 he was bush's

america are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement now thanks to the center for responsive politics we found the number of corporate interests wanting to shape the t.v. is probably a lot greater than the four mentioned by wide it and we can actually name names according to lobbying disclosures seventy seven different clients have made overtures to congress and the executive branch about this agreement and while the documents don't say what these and these positions are i think it's pretty safe to assume that multinational corporations want less over government side less government oversight excuse me not more what we do know about lobbying in general is that those who do it they often helped write the policy so here are just some of the group. who've been lobbying and possibly participating in the drafting of the t.p. . with us we'll have a little tape issue there we go and it also good it takes a while so the names that we have pfizer yahoo the u.s. chamber of commerce the m.p.a. dow chemical and rupert murdoch's news corp which could explain why fox news really talks about this ri

our facebook and twitter accounts and we have to give obviously a special thanks to the center for responsive politics for their service to transparency here if you search trans-pacific partnership under lobbying issues on open secrets dot org which is their web site you're going to find a list now it should be noted that public interest groups and unions they've been lobbying too but the probably not the ones that are getting inside info on these negotiations i'm guessing is by the many negative statements they've released concerning the t p p and the damage that it could do to american workers so we'll be sure to keep you guys in the loop if more information does come out. now earlier in the show we spent a lot of time focusing on the obama administration's drone program abroad but drone use here in the u.s. will soon become just as big of a story and like everything else in u.s. politics the politicians are warping me issues to suit their interest you remember them back in february president obama signed a bill that forces the f.a.a. to free up airspace for drones by september of two thousand and f

of the bubble in two thousand and seven april two thousand and ten then we go to the center for responsive politics they say that between two thousand and seven and two thousand and ten the median senator and representative saw average net wealth shoot up by ten point six and fifty four point seven percent respectively now to make this seem like the result of impropriety the washington post reported last week that from two thousand and seven to two thousand and ten one hundred and thirty legislators or their families treated millions in stocks of companies lobby on lobbying on bills that came before their committees so these deals could be collectively worth as much as two hundred and fifteen million dollars and one of every trade by lawmakers they seem to correspond with legislation shocker right so it seems like a good a lot of good old self interest is a good explanation for why members of congress actually put up with the pressure on the all the hate all they make less in salary than private sector executives there's much less bricks your savings when you've got access to golden nuggets of info

in the center for responsive politics president obama is still raking in the dough on the form of campaign donations from wall street this fight all that talk about how he's unfriendly to business now the obama campaign and the d.n.c. have raised more than fourteen million dollars from the securities and investment industry just through the end of april of this year and i'm sure that might be less than mitt romney's raising it might be less than they raise in two thousand and eight before thousand million dollars is not chump change so the next time you see another headline of more corruption collusion theft coming from wall street and you ask why nothing has been done to really counter it to really regulate it not just have a c.e.o. or a c.e.o. step down i think that you can thank the mainstream media for their role and not putting the pressure on for not connecting all the dots and instead choosing to miss. well this monday twitter released its first ever transparency report and revealed that just in the first six months of two thousand and twelve they received more demands from governme

. >> james, the center for responsive politics says that during the 2010 sirk l, social organizationspacs by a 3-2 margin, but they're spen iing their money o vicious attack ads. how is that social welfare? >> we thought citizens united was a terrible decision in that super pacs were a loophole for the political process, but these so-called social welfare organizations are a loophole within the loophole. you've got to get money out of politics. it is corrupting the entire system and the bottom line here -- they're shaping policy. and we don't force disclosure -- not about this presidential election either/or the next round of congress. >> indeed, jared, it must be the case that if one of these social welfare organizations targets you with $25 million, this could well swing the senate for example. >> exactly. absolutely. what james said is really very important. let me say three things quickly. one, i think we'll all agree, we have a dysfunctional politics right now. two, we have more economic inequality than we've ever seen and three, there are no controls as we're discussing on money

according to the nonpartisan center for responsive politics, the democratic national committee and obamaaised more than $14 million from the securities and investment industry -- compared to nearly $9.5 million contributed to his republican rival mitt romney. this makes wall street the third most generous industry donating to obama's reelection efforts. the news comes amidst ongoing investigations by the justice department into massive financial fraud by some of the nation's largest banks. yet for years after the 2000 economic crisis, not a single top wall street executive has gone to jail. well, to look at how the politically powerful enjoy virtual immunity from the consequences of even the most egregious crimes, we're joined in new york by glenn greenwald, familiar to all "democracy now!" there's an lister's. he's a constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for salon.com read he writes about wall street's impunity in his book, "with liberty and justice for some: how the law is used to destroy equality and protect the powerful." it was released in paperback this week.

this is center for responsive politics information and these are some super pack supporting govern romney and g.o.p. candidates to be followed by super p.a.c.'s. let's listen to our next call from washington, d.c. you're on the air. caller: hello there. host: hi, william. caller: hello. i think that political ads, i don't think works that well. i mean, i think they're written on a probably fourth or fifth grade level. they're cliche at this point where things like the gary music and that kind of thing and -- i don't know. but i have a solution to the entire corporate money in politics without violating the institutional rights and corporation of free speech and it is just simply using contract law. for example, if your corporation sells something to the federal government, then you're not allowed to donate to the federal government and that to a political campaigns and that would probably ban by probably 490 of the fortune 500 companies , lockheed, exxon, every company. you could just put it in contract law. but i don't think the politicians would ever do that. host: next up is a call fro

vivica novak is the communications director if the center for responsible politics, a nonpartisan group >> good to be with you, carol. >> i took these numbers from your fabulous website, opensecrets.org. to date, mr. obama has raised more than $255 million and mr. romney more than $121 million. those numbers don't tell the whole story, though, right? >> no. i mean, if money were everything, then we'd have a president ross perot to be looking back on or a president steve forbes. clearly money is hugely important, though, or these candidates wouldn't be spending so much time raising it. >> so we here like last month mitt romney outraised president obama, but those figures show obama is up in total take by $100 million. why is that? >> well, yeah. that doesn't mean, though, that he has an extra $100 million. you have to remember these candidates raise the money, and they spend the money. and every month, it's almost like starting from zero again. >> if you look at who's donating to whom, i thought this was really interesting, obama's top five donors, microsoft, the university of california

according to the center for responsive politics, an independent watchdog group, as of mid july, these super pac's have raised more than $244 million to influence elections. individuals and corporations can make unlimited donations to these super pac's whose donations are supposed to be disclosed, but the court's decision opened the door, not just individuals and corporations seeking to influence elections with unlimited contributions. this ruling, combined with the i.r.s.'s failure to strictly enforce our laws on the operation of nonprofit groups organized as social welfare organizations under section 501-c-4 of the internal revenue code allows them to seek this influence with spending that is only not unlimited but is also secret. because there is no requirement that donations to those 501-c-4 organizations be disclosed to the public. donors can seek to influence an election with huge sums of money and can do so now without even having to disclose their involvement. they do so covered by a fig leaf , that the nonprofit groups to which they donate are dedicated to -- quote -- "social

it suggests that it could hit $3 billion according to the center for responsive politics.hat do those numbers say to you? is this a good thing to be spending all this money on elections? guest: we spend a lot more money than that to advertise soap products. we need to be informed about candidates. i years spending does increase voter knowledge. as much as people hate those ads, higher spending does increase voter knowledge. host: let's move to the senate effort to pass legislation call to be disclosed at. you have been a critic of that. why? guest: i have a number of problems with the disclose act. it is not really necessary. you hear all of these reports about secret money in politics. every superpac has to disclose their donors. campaigns and political parties disclose their dollars. we have more disclosure than we ever had in american politics. there is a burdensome costs on smaller campaigns. he disclosed that would require reports to be filed within 24 hours of making expenditures. they are not prepared to file reports and that is a burdensome act on them. there is al

been in effect since the 1970's -- "by a 3-2 margin, according to a recent study by the center for responsive politics and the center for public integrity, with most of that money devoted to attacking democrats or defending republicans. and such groups have accounted for two-thirds of the political advertising bought by the biggest outside spenders so far in the 2012 election cycle, according to kim talk media's campaign media analysis group, with close to $100 million in issue ads." a small group of anonymous individuals organized as corporate entities, not-for-profit corporate entities in some cases, $100 million. and the clock is still ticking and the amount is accumulating. that electioneering in the shadows is not what most americans want. they want robust debate. they want candidates to engage as candidates, not through surrogates, not the witting or unwitting beneficiaries or victims of anonymous advertisements in their state, in their race. this is not, i believe, what the creators of the constitution thought would happen or hoped would happen. they envisioned i think one in which the best ide

host: the overall fund-raising numbers from the super pacs, according to the center for responsive politics. independent expenditures were sort of a key thing in this montana case. what is an independent expenditure. guest: independent expenditure is mostly a way to spend be a broadcast television or radio, also direct mail or phone banks. it is to directly advocate for or against the election of a federal candidate. the key is it is independent. it cannot be coordinated with the campaigns themselves. and this coordination is particularly regarding strategy. you cannot talk a campaign and say i did we should go up to ohio this week or we will go to florida so you did not -- that kind of coordination is not allowed what these independent expenditures. host: marietta, georgia, democratic line. caller: good morning. yes, ms. mason, i enjoy hearing from you and i agree wholeheartedly. what puzzles me -- and i don't think what people are really seeing is they talk about states' rights all the time and then did the supreme court takes away a state that since 1912 had a law on their books. then we

million so far this election cycle. 114.2 raised by conservative groups as defined by the center for responsive politicsy liberal groups, that group says. that's partly because the obama team didn't really embrace super pacs. they are really behind in fundraising. although the deadline is today, carl, we are not expecting to see any of these numbers during the daytime today. a lot of these super pacs will wait until the end of the day and bury the news on a friday afternoon. >> it's interesting to see, even with such criticism of super pacs in general, even those who are against it may realize that donating to them is the only option that they have. >> yeah, that's exactly been the case for the obama team. they were against this concept for super pacs and caved in to agreeing to do it and now they are having trouble doing it. they are way behind -- they are clearly way behind the conservative side on the liberal side here. that is an area where they are going to have to make up the distance going into november. >> with the race so tight, even though it seems like it's going forward month to month, every

so far the center for responsive politics has been able to track at least $100 million from such groupsibuted at least $53 million that can be tracked this cycle. and that doesn't begin to factor in politics and lobbying that wasn't even reported to the federal election commission, wolf. >> this debate will continue. no legislation probably will pass. but the debate will continue. >> add nausea. it's been going on for decades. >> of course. thank you. >>> coming up, by the way, at the top of the hour in our new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour by the way the latest on that deadly attack on israeli tourists in bulgaria now ratcheting up tension with iran. >>> also, you already know cigarette smoking can cost you your health. and if you live in one state, it may end up costing you up to $10,000. we're going to tell you why. that's coming up next. until i got a job in the big apple. adjusting to city life was hard for me. and becoming a fulltime indoor cat wasn't easy for atti. but we had each other and he had purina cat chow indoor. he absolutely loved it. and i knew he was getting everything he ne

the center for responsible politics has now said that super pacs and their related organizations have already spent over twice what similar groups spent four years ago. so we not only have this unleashing of undisclosed corporate funds, we're now seeing the super pacs taking over as the major source of funding of campaigns. so as senator mikulski just said on the floor, it's one thing when we run for office, we solicit contributions. every one of those contributors are listed on our reports. we make quarterly reports so that the people of the nation know who's financing our campaigns. they will not know who's financing these ads that are going to appear on television from these citizens united-type political activities where you don't know where the money is coming from. it could come from a single source who wishes to influence our political system but does not want to be identified in the cause. i really think this compromises our democratic system. i think that an individual could literally distort our political system through the use of money, and that's something i would hope all

an executive director of the center for responsive politics has the latest fund-raising numbers from the campaigns and super pac. the future of iraq after u.s. troops are withdrawn. "washington journal is live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. " the political parties are holding their platform hearings in the advance of their summer conventions. in mid august, republican start their platform process at their convention site in tampa, florida. c-span's coverage continues august 10 with the reform party in philadelphia. live coverage beginning monday, august 27. the democratic national convention live from charlotte, n.c., starting monday, september 3. >> on tuesday, the ronald burgess handover directorship of the defense intelligence agency to michael flynn. he will also assume command of the joint functional component command. this change of leadership ceremony took place at a joint base anacostia. following the leadership ceremony, he will retire from the army with 30 years of service. speakers include leon panetta, martin dempsey, james clapper. this is an hour and 30 minutes. ♪ >> left, l

opportunities for corporations, unions, individual associations to invest in the festivities and to potentially create it with the party and candidates. host: sheila with the center of responsive politics. the website opensecrets.org. thank you very much for being with us. guest: thank you. >> tomorrow on "washington journal" washington post reporter paul cain looks at the week ahead for congress. phil galewitz shows requirements of medicaid funding. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. next, q&a with anthony scalia. after that, republican presidential candidate mitt romney in jerusalem. >> the internet sbrings radical transparency to almost everything it touches. privacy, it becomes a construct. it's an article construct, a very important one created by laws and institutions and enforcement. >> a few weeks ago ron beckstrom oversaw the internet domain names for i-can. the internet corporation for names and numbers. monday night a look at the internet and cyber security on "the communicators" at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. >> we did not begin as a city in kentucky. there was only a vague native american region and later a county and another state called kentucky. but

of the blind sheikh who is responsible, convicted, imprisoned for the first attack on the world trade center in 1993. >> that will never happen. i think it says he has political needs but also has other political needs and a couple of other things that he said were that he's going to appoint a woman and a christian as his vice president. i want to add something on iran. we have a new amphibious platform in the straits of hormuz which contains people who could stop iran from mining the straits but it could also have helicopters and troops and the insertion of this platform is very interesting. john kerry was quoted as saying it shouldn't send the wrong signal. it's a tough balance here. >> long planned but obviously prepositioned for any eventuality. >> i think it sends a signal to the iranians they better not mine the straits but also could send a signal to the israelis that we're not kidding and there is a red line which only president obama knows which iran cannot cross. hopefully the sanctions work. >> i wanted to show some of the pictures and talk about your trip, because you went from tunisia, you were in libya, tunisia and egypt. you sort of went throug