Live Chat 2:30 p.m. ET: How is Big Money Changing Our Elections?

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October 30, 2012

You know big money is having a big impact on America’s elections. But how, exactly?

Two years after the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision, more money is being spent on elections than ever before, much of it from tax-exempt organizations that are not required to publicly disclose their donors.

In, Big Sky, Big Money correspondent Kai Ryssdal, host of APM’s Marketplace, explores the impact of the decision in the remote epicenter of the battle over campaign finance laws: Montana, home to one of the closest senate races in the country.

The race — between between Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester and his challenger, Republican congressman Dennis Rehberg — has attracted more TV advertising than any other Senate race this year, with much of the funding coming from outside groups that don’t disclose their donors.

So what impact, exactly, are outside groups like these having on America’s elections? Could they change the way elected officials govern? How is non-disclosure of donors changing the game? And where is the “dark money” arms race heading?

We asked Ryssdal, the film’s producer Rick Young and ProPublica reporter Kim Barker to join us to discuss these questions and take yours in a live chat on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

We’ll also be joined by guest questioner/resident expert James Bennet, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Here’s his recent piece on “The New Price of American Politics.”

You can leave a question in the chat window below, and come by at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 31 to join the live discussion.


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