FEC Rolls Out Red Carpet To The White House

With campaign finance restrictions putting a damper on the ability of the rich and the famous to influence elections with their money, one Hollywood mogul wants to tap into stars' fame instead. A former entertainment exec whose style was cramped by the 2002 act outlawing "soft money" has found a way to raise money for candidates without encountering individual donor caps. The Federal Election Commission on July 12 voted four to one that television executive Michael King could encourage entertainers to volunteer for campaigns by making contributions to charity in lieu of paying them a performance fee. The FEC ruled these donations would constitute neither campaign contributions nor payment to the performers. *Read the story: http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=295