elaine weintraub: they are a important deterrent. it is critically important that the agency play a significant role in monitoring and enforcing the law and making sure that people who violate the law are held accountable in a significant way. if we have seen challenges in that regard in the past few years. >> is the f.e.c. working to stop rule breakers? : i think theaub agency can mark and has worked in the past. a lot of people say they are set up to fail. there are six commissioners and by law no more than three can be from any one party. so, some people say it is designed to gridlock. i think it's designed to compromise. fortunately, compromise has been a little bit in short supply around here in recent years. >> here's why the f.e.c. sluggishness should concern you. candidates are raising a ton of money. 2016 presidential candidate jeb bush has already raised four times more than every candidate in 2012 combined. harvard professor larry lessig ran his presidential campaign on this issue. when i talked to him, he had some pretty

to talk to commissioner elaine weintraub about the process. >> we run a federal agency that administersorces the laws governing campaign finance. as commissioner we are in charge of the management of the agency and policy decisions that the commission makes. >> how has the citizens united upreme court case affected the flow of money in politics? >> we are starting to see now more money being raised and spent, but coming from fewer donors and less transparency because the money is now shifting over to the super p.a.c.'s, and in some cases to organizations where they can accept unlimited contributions. >> do you think that's a good thing? >> i think it really is not a great trend for democracy. if you believe every citizen has the same rights and representation in the government. >> do you think the fines the f.e.c. imposes are enough of a deterrent? >> i think they're an important deterrent and critically important that the agency play a significant role in monitoring and enforcing the law and making sure that people who violate the law are held accountable in a significant way. if we ha