Stealth spending on the rise as Election Day approaches

Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 13:45 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Romney campaign pins are on display for sale in the GOP gift shop during the third day of the Republican National Convention. The top two spending organizations taking advantage of the Citizens United decision are Republican backers. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that unleashed corporate and union spending on elections, there seemed to be a silver lining:  the identity of those who fund all those annoying ads would be revealed to the public on a regular basis. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Since Labor Day, spending by outside groups taking advantage of the high court’s Citizens United decision totaled a little more than $229 million, including unions. Forty-four percent of the total — $100 million — has come from non-disclosing, nonprofit corporations. The clearest example comes from the top two spenders. Both organizations are Republican backers. And they also happen to share the same ...

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