july 22, 2015
Survey: Conservative Arizonans support specific rules on money in politics
Most conservative Arizonans support specific measures to address the problem with money in politics, according to a new poll released by Take Back Our Republic (www.takeback.org).
Certain campaign reform measures have appealed most broadly to liberal groups, but Take Back Our Republic specifically surveyed previously identified active conservatives and determined that specific measures to curb the influence of big money in politics are supported by those who back conservative causes and are likely to vote in Republican primaries. The following measures had support among a clear majority (not just a plurality) of the state’s conservatives who were surveyed in the past week:
A total of 197 state residents who have previously identified themselves as active conservatives or libertarians participated in the survey. The results will be distributed to the 31 founding members of the State Chapter of Take Back Our Republic.
“After years of running conservative political campaigns, this research verified that the most active conservatives do believe money in politics poses a problem,” said TAKE BACK Executive Director John Pudner, who last year launched the political campaign that overcame Eric Cantor and his political war chest of millions.
“There are some clear first steps conservatives would like to take to address money in politics, and these are not all the same steps liberals might choose,” Pudner said. “The state conservatives we interviewed were divided on other campaign finance issues, and Take Back hopes to continue to encourage discussions. Some strongly support tax credits for small donors to balance off big donors. Some want protection from employment retribution for contributions, while others worry that would lead to too much legislation. Some want limits put on donors, while others feel strongly this is a limit on their 1st amendment rights to free speech.”
As a 501c3 under the IRS code, Take Back hopes to educate the public on the various issues and potential solutions surrounding money in modern campaigns.
