Report Looks at Corporate Donations in the State Senate from 2008 to 2012

The Center for Working Families (an advocacy group run by “community activists, veteran union organizers and experienced policy advocates”) released a report today entitled “The Big Switch.”

The report looks at corporate political donations to certain State Senators who chaired standing committee between 2008 and 2011 — a period in which the State Senate went from GOP control to Democratic control, and then back to GOP control.

From the report’s cover:

Q: Are campaign contributions generally provided to support a particular political party, candidate or ideology? Or does money simply follow power, implying that the contributor is seeking a return on the investment?

A: When the Republican Party held a majority of seats in the New York State Senate in 2008, Republican legislative committee chairs were showered with campaign cash from corporations, including senators who did not face a competitive election. When the Democrats took control in 2009, a big switch occurred: money flowed away from the Republicans and toward the new Democratic committee chairs. When the Republicans regained control in 2011, we witnessed another “big switch.”

In order to “lessen the improper influence of large corporate contributions to candidates,” CWF recommends enacting a system of public campaign finance, lower contribution limits, limits on “housekeeping” accounts, and increased enforcement of the campaign finance laws.

CWF raises some interesting questions about the intent of campaign donations, but the report’s failure to address all interest group political donations – including labor unions – leaves me scratching my head.